Just A Shadow
by OnlyAnonymous
Summary: Shadow is an Artificially Grown Life Form with only one purpose: Protect the last Time Lord.  But is that really all that she ever was?  Rated M for some strong language and violence.
1. The Christmas Invasion, Part 1

I was tired of wandering. Tired of waiting for so long. I sat there on the curb dejectedly as I had done so many times before. Waiting for him. Why had he just dumped me there? Actually, I knew the answer to that. He didn't want to feel responsible for my death. As he felt responsible for so many others. But he was literally, my purpose in life, the only reason that I exist. It is my job to protect him, and my kind have to have a job, a purpose, or we do exactly what I was doing at that moment: we wander around in circles, and sit around feeling lost. I don't know how long I sat there for. But eventually, I got up and started walking again. Wandering Aimlessly. The humans called me that. Wandering Aimlessly. Or just Amy for short. I did this for five years. They tried to put me in a place called a hospital a few times, but they could never catch me, and they just gave up one day. I had no purpose, nothing to do. No reason to be here, or anywhere else except by his side. I was prepared to wait here forever. It thought that that day, I would spend wandering all day. But that day was different. That day, I felt something that stopped me in my tracks. "Oh," I said. I turned, heading east. I felt energy, regenerative energy. And that could mean only one thing. There was a Time Lord nearby. And there was only one Time Lord left. I walked with purpose now, a smile on my face.

Rose Tyler heard a knock on her front door. She looked back at the Doctor, who had changed so drastically, he looked like a whole different person. She went to go answer the door.  
>She opened the door, to see a girl standing there. She looked about twenty years old, and was dressed all in black. She had black hair that went doen to her waist, and bright green eyes.<br>"Amy?" she asked.  
>Amy didn't answer, just pushed past Rose, running into the bedroom that contained the Doctor.<br>"Hey! Mickey!" Rose yelled, running after her. She burst in to the room, to find Amy standing next to the bed, staring at the Doctor, an odd expression on her face.  
>"Amy, What are you doing?" Rose asked.<br>Amy looked up at her in confusion. "He isn't right," she said.  
>"What?" Rose asked.<br>Amy pointed at the Doctor. "He just regenerated. He should be fixed. He isn't. What's wrong with him?"  
>"Amy, what are you talking about?" Rose asked carefully.<br>She didn't reply, just crouched down at the side of the bed, looking at the Doctor in concern.  
>Mickey burst into the room, almost knocking Rose off her feet. "Yeah?" he asked. He saw Amy, and pointed at her.<br>"That's that girl, Amy. What's she doing here?"  
>Rose shook her head. "I don't know, she just knocked on the door, and then ran in here," she said.<br>Jackie Tyler, Rose's mother, appeared at the doorway. "Who just ran in," she asked, pushing past Mickey so she could see. "Oh, that's that crazy girl," she said. Rose shushed her.  
>"Mum," she said.<br>"What? She is crazy," Jackie said.  
>"What's she doing?" Mickey asked. They all looked at Amy, who had her index finger against the Doctors right temple. Her eyes were closed.<br>"Well, what are we going to do?" Mickey asked.  
>"I think we just leave her," Rose said.<br>"We don't know what she's doing,"Jackie pointed out. "What if she's frying his brain or something?"  
>Rose shook her head. "No, I don't think so. She said 'he isn't right', like she cared. She sounded concerned."<br>"So we're just gonna leave her in here? Alone?" Mickey asked.  
>Rose shook her head. "No, I'll stay. Make sure she doesn't do anything."<br>He nodded, and left, going back to monitoring the television.  
>"I've got to check those cookies," Jackie said, and she left, leaving the three of them alone.<br>Rose sat in the chair next to the bed, and watched the Doctor and Wandering Aimlessly.  
>A few minutes later, she heard a clatter, and a shriek from the other room, and a whirring noise. She poked her head out into the hall, to see Mickey and her mother, looking in horror at something that Rose couldn't see. Rose ran over to them. "Mum, what is-" she broke off as she saw what they were looking at. It was their christmas tree. It was moving, spinning around and coming towards them. It shreddded the coffee table, and Rose ran back into the bedroom. Amy was sitting in the corner, staring blankly at the doorway. Rose heard he mother, out in the hall.<br>Mickey picked up a chair, which was promptly shredded, and then followed Jackie's example, running into the bedroom.  
>"Doctor!" Rose yelled, shaking him. "Doctor, wake up!"<br>Jackie and Mickey moved the chest of drawers in front of the door and held it there, listening through the wood.  
>Rose ran over to the closet and stuck her hand in the Doctor's coat pocket, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. She ran back to the bed, and put the screwdriver in his hand as the chest of drawers started to shake violently. Mickey and Jackie jumped away as the chest of drawers exploded into splinters. The christmas tree was in the room.<br>"I'm going get killed by a christmas tree!" Jackie squeaked.  
>"Help me," Rose said, close to teh Doctor's ear. He sat up and pointed the screwdriver at the tree. The tree exploded.<br>Jackie sat up, looking around in astonishment.  
>"Remote control," the Doctor said. "But who's controlling it?" He got up, grabbing the bathrobe that was hanging on the door, before headng outside.<br>They looked down from the balcony outside, and saw three santa clauses, standing in phalanx formation. The one at the point was holding a remote control, which Rose guessed had been controlling the christmas tree. The Doctor pointed the screwdriver at them, and they stepped back. A second passed, and there were three beams of blue light, moving up. The santa clauses' were gone.  
>"They've just gone," Mickey said. "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offense, but they're not much good if a sonic screwdriver's gonna scare them off."<br>"Pilot fish," the Doctor said.  
>"What?" Rose asked.<br>"They were just pilot fish," he said. He made an odd sound in the back of his throat, and fell backward against the wall. All three humans rushed to try and catch him before he hit his head.  
>"You woke me up to soon," he said. "I'm still regenerating, bursting with energy. The pilot fish can smell it. A million miles away. So they eliminate the defense, that's you lot, and then carry me off. They can run their batteries off me for years," he said, spasming on the last word.<br>"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"  
>"What do you need?" Jackie asked.<br>"I need-"  
>"Just say it!" she yelled at him.<br>"I need-"  
>"Tell me, tell me, tell me!"<br>"I need-"  
>"Painkillers!"<br>"I need-"  
>"D'you need aspirin?"<br>"I need-"  
>"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I dunno, Pepto-Bismol?"<br>"I need-"  
>"Liquid paraffin? Vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E?"<br>"I need-"  
>"Is it food? Something simple? Bowl of soup? Nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Bowl of soup and a nice ham sandwich?"<br>"I need you to shut up!" he said.  
>Jackie exhaled in a puff. "Well, he hasn't changed that much, has he?"<br>"We haven't got much time," he said. "If there's pilot fish, then theres- Why is there an apple in my dressing gown?" he asked.  
>"Oh, that's Howard, sorry," Jackie said.<br>"Howard has apples in his dressing gown?" the Doctor asked.  
>"He gets hungry," Jackie replied.<br>The Doctor looked at the apple. "What, he gets hungry in his sleep?" he asked.  
>"Somtimes," Jackie said.<br>He spasmed again, falling to the ground. "Pain, can't think," he gasped. He looked Rose in the eyes. "But the pilot fish. The pilot fish mean there's something coming. Something big," he said.  
>"Move over Rose," someone said from behind. Rose turned, and saw Amy there. She moved over, and Amy crouched down so the Doctor could see her. His eyes widened.<br>"You," he said.  
>She didn't reply, just pressed her index and middle fingers against his forhead. His eyes closed, and he went limp.<br>"What did you do?" Rose asked. Amy ignored her, grabbing the Doctor under the arms, and dragging him in the direction of the apartment. Rose watched her go, and looked at Mickey.  
>"Mickey, what are pilot fish?" she asked.<br>"I don't know," he said. "I'll go look them up."  
>She nodded. "You do that," she said.<br>She got up, and walked into the apartment, and into the bedroom. Amy had put the Doctor back in bed, and was sitting on the floor next to the bed, just staring at him.  
>"Who are you? Really?" Rose asked.<br>"I am Unit 24AK2930," she replied.  
>"You're a robot?" Rose asked.<br>Amy(Or Unit 24AK2930) shook her head. "No, Artificially Grown Life Form."  
>"A clone?" Rose asked. Amy shook her head again.<br>"No," she said.  
>"Well, what does Artificially Grown Life Form mean then?" Rose asked.<br>"I have no parents. The scientists on Galva Neerta created me."  
>"Galva Neerta, that's a planet?" Rose asked. Amy nodded.<br>"Since your name doesn't seem to really be Amy, do you mind if I call you Amy? Or would you rather be called something else?" Rose asked.  
>"Shadow," she said. "He called me Shadow. He never told me why."<br>"Who, the Doctor?" Rose asked. Shadow nodded.  
>"What do you want with him?" Rose asked.<br>"To carry out my orders," Shadow said.  
>"What are your orders?" Rose asked.<br>Shadow closed her eyes. "Protect the last Time Lord at any cost. Obey the last Time Lord."  
>"Who ordered you to do that?" Rose asked.<br>"My creator," she replied.  
>"Who is your creator?" Rose asked.<br>"I don't know," Shadow said.  
>"You don't know?" Rose asked.<br>"I was sent along with the Doctor before I saw anything else. I opened my eyes, and he was the first thing I saw. My orders were pre-programmed into my head."  
>"Do you know why they wanted you to protect the Doctor?" Rose asked.<br>"Yes," Shadow replied.  
>"Why?" Rose asked.<br>"He saved my creator's planet from the Demons," she said.  
>"Do you know what demons?" Rose asked.<br>Shadow shook her head. "I know what they look like, but not their names. My creator knew them only as the Demons."  
>"How did you end up on Earth?" Rose asked.<br>"He left me here," Shadow said.  
>"Why did he do that?" Rose asked.<br>"He was afraid for me. He did not want me to die for him, as almost all of my kind eventually do for the ones we protect."  
>"So the only thing you can do is protect the Doctor?" Rose asked.<br>Shadow nodded. "You can't make your own choices? Decide to fall in love, get married, have a family?"  
>"My kind are emotionally incapable of falling in love," she said.<br>"Why's that?" Rose asked.  
>"We are born in love."<br>"I don't get it," Rose said.  
>"My creator programmed me with an instinct to protect the Doctor. That is all I can feel. The need to keep him safe. That is all there is for me. It is all I know. My creator called this emotion love."<br>"That's sick," Rose said.  
>Shadow looked at her funnily. "Why would it be sick?" she asked.<br>"You are born so that you can never fall in love? Never do anything but look after one person? Forever?" Rose said.  
>"But what would I do if that was not my purpose?" Shadow asked.<br>"Go get a life. Meet someone, fall in love-"  
>"Have a family?" Shadow finished. Rose nodded.<br>"I am incapable of bearing young," Shadow told her.  
>Rose stared at her. "What?" she asked.<br>"Artificially Grown Life Forms are infertile. We cannot produce young."  
>"So that really is it. All you can do is tag along behind the Doctor and look after him. Like his shadow," Rose said, realizing why the Doctor had given her that name.<br>Shadow nodded. "And now, I must sit here helplessly and watch him grow weaker, and weaker. He will die, and so will I."  
>"You know, if he dies, then you don't jsut have to give up," Rose said "If he's dead, and there's no one for you to protect, you could learn to live other ways-" she stopped. Shadow was shaking her head.<br>"What, you don't die with him, do you?" Rose asked.  
>Shadow nodded. "If he dies, I will also die."<br>Rose just gaped at her, open-mouthed. "You die along with him?" she asked. Shadow nodded.  
>"Oh, now don't try to tell me that isn't sick," Rose said.<br>"In the case that there is a deffective Unit, who were to decid that they wanted freedom, and decided that the only way to get it was to kill the person they were charged with protecting, then that option would not be available to them."  
>Rose thought it was sick, but it made sense, in a sick way. The Doctor turned over, mumbling. Rose leaned forward and felt his forehead. He was burning up.<br>She left to get a wet rag, thinking about Shadow, and worrying about the Doctor.


	2. The Christmas Invasion, Part 2

"Rose," she heard Mickey calling from the other room. She got up, handing the rag to Shadow, before leaving.  
>Mickey was at his laptop, reading something.<br>"How's he doing?" Jackie asked.  
>"Worse. He's only got one heartbeat now," Rose said.<br>"Rose, I found out what a pilot fish is," Mickey said.  
>Rose walked over to the computer. "What?" she asked.<br>"Well, it's a kind of fish. They swim alongside predators, like sharks and stuff, eating the parasites off the sharks, and the leftovers from their meals."  
>"So if there are pilot fish, then's there's a shark nearby?" Rose asked. Mickey nodded.<br>"We got this," he showed her an animation of a pilot fish. "So now, we're gonna get this," he said, switching to an animation of a shark.  
>"Rose, Mickey, come look at this," Jackie said from in front of the television.<br>There was a man on the screen. "That's that space probe person," Mickey said.  
>"Project manager," Rose recalled.<br>"Shush," Jackie said.  
>"Yes, we are, we're back on shedule," he was saying. "We've recieved the signal from Guinevere 1, the mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."<br>"But is it true that you lost contact with Guinevere 1 earlier tonight?" a reporter asked.  
>"Yes, we had a bit of a scare, Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it was just a blip, only disappeared for a few seconds, she is fine now, absolutely fine, we should be getting the first images, transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks," he said, running off to the side of the screen.<br>The picture flickered, and they got some static. Then the picture sharpened, and they saw a face. It looked like it was just bone, and Rose thought it was obviously alien. It roared, and they all jumped back, yelling. The screen went blank for a minute, and then the news channel popped back up again.  
>"Mickey," Rose asked. "Can you hack into the Guinevere satelite feed?"<br>He nodded. "Yeah," he said, running over to the laptop. "Just give me a minute," he said.

I reached forward, feeling his forehead again. I wished I had a thermomenter, because it would have made things easier if I could know what temperature he was. If he had just been sick, I would have been treating him with small doses of solar bio-particals, but he was trying to get rid of excess energy. Giving him more, of any kind, could prove fatal. All I could do was sit and wait.

"Rose," Mickey said. "Take a look at our access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship, it's big, fast, and coming this way."  
>"Coming for what though?" ROse asked. "The Doctor?"<br>"I don't know," Mickey replid. "Maybe it's coming for all of us."  
>The screen flickered, and then the picture sharpened, showing more of the aliens they'd seen on the television.<br>They spoke, and Rose didn't recognize the langauge. "Have you seen these before?" Mickey asked.  
>Rose shook her head. "No."<br>"I don't understand what they're saying," Rose said. "The Tardis translates alien langauges in my head all the time, where ever I am."  
>"So why isn't it translating now?" Mickey asked.<br>"I don't know," she said. "Must be the Doctor. He's part of the Tardis, and now he's sick, like he's broken."  
>"So what are we going to do?" he asked.<br>"I don't know," she said.

Jackie came in and sat with us. She ignored me, and I didn't mind. I liked going unnoticed. It made my job easier sometimes. I could blend in very well. A kind off shadow effect. The Doctor called it a pre-installed Perception Filter, whatever that was. My Creator called it a shadow device. It makes one seem as a shadow. Unnoticed. I practiced it now. So many parts if me that I had neglected for so long. I was out of practice, and things like a shadow device could save my Doctor's life someday.  
>So I sat there, and Jackie took no notice of me, and she fell asleep eventually. And then Rose appeared at the door. And she just looked at the Doctor. I wondered what she was thinking of. What it felt like to be human, helpless, and to look and see the self-proclaimed defender of Earth, dying. I thought she must feel almost as wretched as I.<br>Mickey walked up behind her, and I knew that my shadow device was working when neither of them so much as glanced in my direction.  
>"The Doctor wouldn't do this," Rose said. "The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He's save us," she said.<br>I stood, switching off the shadow device.  
>"He's trying to," I said. Mickey looked alarmed, but Rose didn't even blink.<br>"What do you mean he's trying to?" she asked.  
>"He wants to wake up. He's fighting to wake up."<br>"Then why can't he?" she asked.  
>"I won't let him," I said simply.<br>"Why not?" she asked.  
>"He needs to sleep, and get better," I said.<br>"But we need his help" she protested.  
>"That is not important. All that matters is that he gets better," I said.<br>"And what if the human race is gone before he gets better?" Rose asked. "What if he's too late?"  
>I shrugged. "What do you want me to say? All I can do is keep him alive. I cannot consider anything but what will help him recover more quickly."<br>"But you don't care if the human race gets blown out of existence?" Rose asked. I shook my head. "Protect the Doctor at any cost," I qouted.  
>"At any cost?" she asked.<br>"At any cost," I replied.

Rose was about to argue further, but she heard yelling from outside. She walked to the door and poked her head out, to see her neighbor, Kathy, yelling at her husband, Jason.  
>"What is wrong with you?" she asked.<br>"Kathy?" Rose said. "Look at him," she said. "He's just walking, he won't stop walking. here's this sort of, ligh thing," she said, before going after him again. Rose stepped out of her door, Mickey foloeing close behind, and saw other people walking too. Like they were in a trance. Every now and then, a kind of blue light would glow around their heads, adn they all seemed to be walking in the same direction. Rose walked down the stairs, following them. "Where are they going?" Mickey asked.  
>"I don't know," ROse said. They kept walking, and then they started going up. Up stairs, and fire escapes, just trying to go up, to the top of whatever multi-storied buildings they could. Rose didn't follow the crowd up, she and Mickey stayed onthe ground, watching as the people lined the tops of the buildings. They just stopped, standing on the edge of the roofs, staring blankly ahead.<br>Rose looked at Mickey. "What-" she started to say, but was cut off as a shadow fell over her. She looked up, and saw something that closely resembled a rock, descendiing on the city.  
>"That's not really a rock, is it?" Mickey asked. "That's a spaceship, right?"<br>Rose just nodded wordlessly. Then the ground shook, violently. The glass on all the windows, for miles around, shattered. Alarms went off, bells rang, sirens blared. And Rose looked on it all in horror.  
>"We've got to get out," she said.<br>"What?" Mickey asked, but she wasn't listening. She was already running into the apartment.  
>I stared at the Doctor. I could feel him growing weaker. I hadn't felt him in so long. Our link had been closed ever since he'd left me on Earth. Now it was opening again. That was good. I hadn't had a fully developed teepathic link with him when he left me here. If the link opened now, then it would be harder at least for him to maroon me again. Assuming, of course, he didn't die now. There was that final option, that I would use to keep him alive if all else failed, but it was to be used as a last resort only, and this situation was not yet hopless enough to warrant the use of that option. I would wait.<br> 


	3. The Christmas Invasion, Part 3

Rose burst into the bedroom, running over ot the bed.  
>"Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We're going," she said. "Where to?" Mickey asked.<br>"The Tardis. It's the only safe place on Earth," Rose said, and I quite agreed with her. "What're we going to do in there?" Jackie asked.  
>"Hide," Rose said.<br>"Is that it?" Jackie asked.  
>"Mum, look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right? I've travelled with him, and I've seen all that stuff, but when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move," she said, and Jackie hurried off to pack. I got up, grabbign the Doctor's coat, before headig out the door.<br>I walked to the Tardis, ignoring the panicked humans around me. I looked up, seeing the spaceship hovering over the city. I had mae it to the Tardis, and I reached into the Doctor's coat pocket, pulling out the key. I unlocked the door, steppign in and closing it behind me. I ran up the stais, heading towards sickbay. The Tardis had an extensive medical database, and I wanted to see if it contained any useful information regarding post-regeneration.  
>There were 384 articles in the databse relating to regeneration in Time Lords. I sat down and started sifting through them, one at a time. I heard noises downstairs after a few minutes, and got up, going back down to the first level.<br>Mickey, Rose, Jackie and teh Doctor were on board the Tardis. The Doctor was lying on the ground by the console, and Mickey was talking to Rose while Jackie fished around in some bags.  
>No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked Rose.<br>Rose shook her head. "Not anymore, no." "Well, you did it before," Mickey said.  
>"I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the Universe rips in half," she said.<br>"Ah, better not, then," Mickey said.  
>"Maybe not," Rose agreed. I got from this exchange that Rose had flown te Tardis, which was very interesting, but unhelpful. "So what do we do? Just sit here?" Mickey asked.<br>"That's as good as it gets," Rose replied.  
>Jackie pulled a flask out of a blue bag. "Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea." she said.<br>"Mmm, the solution to everything," Rose said.  
>"Now, stop your moaning," Jackie said. "I'll get the rest of the food."<br>She walked out of the Tardis, closing the door behind her. I walked back up the stairs to the sick bay. There was really nothing I could do right now. There was silence on the other end of my link with the Doctor, and I couldn't think of anythign else to do. I went back to searching the database.

Rose and Mickey were looking at the screen. There was an odd pattern showing on it.  
>"Maybe it's a distress signal," Mickey suggested.<br>Rose snorted. "A fat lot of good that's going to do," she said.  
>"Are you going to be a misery all the time?" Mickey asked.<br>"Yes," she replied.  
>"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking," Mickey said. "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there," Rose said, walking towards the door. "Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine," Mickey said.<br>"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Rose asked over her shoulder.  
>"I'm not that brave," Mickey replied. "Oh, I don't know," Rose said, stepping out of the Tardis. Somehting grabbed her, and she screamed.\<br>"Rose?" Mickey asked, dropping the flask of tea and going outside.  
>I felt something on the other end of my link with the Doctor. He was awake. And he felt better too.<br>{Doctor?} I sent throught the link.  
>{Shadow,} he sent back. {Don't tell me, you found me the same way the pilot fish did.}<br>{Yes,} I sent.  
>{Alright, well just wait here a minute,} he sent.<br>"Oh no Doctor," said aloud, getting up and heading for the door. The finito glass doors slid shut in front of me. I stopped.  
>{Doctor, let me out,} I sent.<br>{No,you just wait here and I'll deal with you later,} he sent back, before blocking me properly.  
>I let my breath out in a puff, and sat down, waiting.<p>

I did not sit and do nothing. That would have been against every instinct and instruction in my being. I tried to pry the door open. I took the panel apart, and tried to open it that way. I banged on the doors, futile though I knew it was.  
>I got very frustrated, and kicked the wall. And the door opened. I stood there for secind, adn then ran out of the door, and down the stairs to the control room, to see the Doctor leaning against the control console.<br>"Doctor," I said.  
>He pointed at me. "Now, I had thought that I'd gotten rid of you. What are you doing here?" he asked.<br>"Carrying out my orders," I said.  
>He looked at me oddly. "Rose told me that you wandered in circles," he said. I nodded. He sighed. "Yeah, I was afraid of that," he said. "I told you to go and live. I ordered you," he said.<br>"I was alive the entire time," I replied.  
>He shook his head. "And you'll jsut go and do the exact same thing if I leave you here again, won't you?" he said.<br>I nodded.  
>"Well then, maybe it is best if you come," he said.<br>"Maybe is incorrect Doctor, it is better for me to follow you," I said. 


	4. New Earth

I had my Shadow Device on. I was walking behind the Doctor, and not much else. Listening to the two of them talk. How some life forms could talk! Almost a nonstop stream of words.

"Bit rich coming from you," Rose was saying.  
>"I can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps," the Doctor replied.<br>"Very smart. Not exactly NHS," Rose said.  
>"No shop. I like the little shop," he said.<br>"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything," Rose said.  
>"The human race moves on, but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war," the Doctor explained.<br>Rose stopped, staring at one of the nurses. "They're cats," she said, like it was the first time she'd noticed.  
>"Now, don't stare," the Doctor said. "Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow. That's where I'd put the shop. Right there."<br>He walked into the lift, and I followed.  
>"Ward 26, thanks," he said.<br>"Hold on! Hold on!" Rose yelled as the doors closed before her.  
>"Oh, too late. I'm going up," the Doctor said over the Intercom.<br>"It's all right, there's another lift," came Rose's voice.  
>"Ward 26," he told her. "And watch out for the decontamination," he said.<br>"Watch out for what?" Rose asked.  
>"The decontamination!" he yelled.<br>"The what?" she asked.  
>"The decon- Oh, you'll find out," he said.<br>"Commence stage one decontamination," an automated voice said over the speaker.  
>We were drenched as a disinfectant spray poured down from the ceiling.<br>"Commance stage two decontamination."  
>There was a puff, and I coughed as a white powder was dropped on us.<br>"Commence stage three decontamination."  
>This was a blow dry, and the Doctor seemed to quite enjoy it. I didn't get dried out all the way. The lift stopped, and the Doctor got off. I stopped though. I felt something odd. An energy signature, powerful enough for me to detect, was coming from downstairs. I looked at the Doctor, who was walking away with a nurse. Even he couldn't possibly get himself killed here. "Basement please," I said.<br>I stepped out of the lift, and the first thing I heard was voices. I followed them, recognising Rose's voice. I didn't know the other one.  
>"Don't you come anywhere near me, Cassandra," Rose said.<br>"Why? What do you think I'm going to do? Flap you to death?" someone who I assumed was Cassandra asked.  
>I peeked around the corner. Rose was standing with her back to me, and in front of her was a... thing. It looked like a flap of skin, stretched out in a frame.<br>"Yeah, but what about Gollum?" Rose asked, indicating a man lurking in the shadows close to the skin thing, or Cassandra.  
>"Oh that's just Chip. He's my pet," Cassandra said.<br>"I worship the mistress," Chip said.  
>"Moisturise me, moisturise me," Cassandra said. Chip stepped into the light, revealing strange patterns all across his skin.<br>"He's not even a proper life form. He's an Artificially Grown Life Form," she said.  
>So am I, I thought.<br>"I modelled him on my favourite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs," she said.  
>"I hope that means food. How comes you're still alive?" Rose asked.<br>"After you murdered me," Cassandra said.  
>"That was your own fault," Rose said.<br>"The brain of my mistress survived. And her pretty blue eyes were salvaged from the bin," Chip said. This was disgusting. He must have been a defective unit.  
>"What about the skin? I saw it. You, you got ripped apart," Rose said.<br>"That piece of skin was taken from the front of my body. This piece is the back," Cassandra said.  
>"Right! So you're talking out of your a-"<br>"Ask not," Cassandra said.  
>"The mistress was lucky to survive. Chip secreted m'lady into the hospital," Chip said. So he did have the protective instincts. Maybe Cassandra had had him grown to specific specifications.<br>"So they don't know you're here?" Rose asked.  
>"Chip steals medicine. Helps m'lady. Soothes her, strokes her," Chip said, and I decided that he was deffective, at least to some degree. He obviously felt emotions.<br>"You can stop right there, Chip," Rose said.  
>"But I'm so alone, hidden down here. The last Human in existence," she said. How did she figure that, I wondered.<br>"Don't start that again. They've called this planet New Earth," Rose said.  
>"A vegetable patch," Cassandra said.<br>"And there's millions of Humans out there. Millions of them," Rose asid.  
>"Mutant stock," Cassandra said. Insistant, I thought.<br>"They evolved, Cassandra. They just evolved, like they should. You stayed still. You got yourself all pickled and preserved, and what good did it do you?" Rose asked.  
>"Oh, I remember that night," Cassandra said, reffering to a video that was playing on an ancient device. "Drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace. That was the last time anyone told me I was beautiful. After that it all became such hard work," she said.<br>"Well, you've got a knack for survival, I'll give you that," Rose said.  
>"But I've not been idle, Rose, tucked away underneath this hospital. I've been listening. The Sisters are hiding something," Cassandra said.<br>"What do you mean?" Rose asked.  
>"Oh these cats have secrets. Hush, let me whisper. Come close," Cassandra said.<br>"You must be joking if you think I'm coming anywhere near you," Rose said, stepping back. The energy signature I'd been picking up earlier spiked, and Rose was enveloped by a force field. I froze, wondering what was going on now.  
>"Chip, activate the psychograft," Cassandra said.<br>"I can't move. Cassandra, let me go! What're you doing?" Rose yelled.  
>"The lady's moving on. It's goodbye trampoline, and hello blondie," she said.<br>The energy moving from Cassandra to Rose was actually visible. That was very impressive. I wondered what that was?  
>Chip ran over to Rose.<br>"Mistress?" he asked, and it dawned on me that I knew what has happened. "Moisturise me," she said, and Chip ran to get the sprayer. "How bizarre. Arms, fingers, hair! Let me see! Let me see! Oh my God. I'm a chav!" she exclaimed.  
>I turned, leaving. The Doctor would want to know about this. I was about to try to tap our link, when evreything just stopped, and the world went black.<p>

Chip stood over the girl clutching the pipe that he had just hit her with, and peering at her curiously.  
>"Who is she Mistress?" he asked.<br>"Oh how should I know?" Cassandra said. She stopped. "Oh, wait, the Rose girl knows her." She looked down at the girl in alarm. "Quick, tie her up, before she wakes," she said to Chip. He hurried to do her bidding.

I did not know how long it was until I woke, with a fierce headache. I winced, and tried to feel my head, before noticing that I couldn't move. I looked down, to find myself tied hand and foot with white cords. I sat for a few minutes, thinking about this problem, and then tried reaching out to the Doctor. I winced as my headache flared. There was something stopping the link, something in this room. A bio-dampening field. I looked around, seeing nothing in my immediate vicinity that would help me. I sat there for a while, before I came up with a pretty good idea. I had a teleportation device, wired into me, like the Shadow Device. I teleported into the lobby. The Nurse at the desk stared at me for a few minutes.  
>"Could you please untie me?" I asked, very politely. She stared for a few more minutes, and then nodded, getting up and walking over to me.<br>"Thank you," I said, standing. I reached out to the Doctor again, feeling his mind this time.  
>{Doctor,} I sent.<br>{Where have you been?} he sent back.  
>I sent him my entire memory of the last few hours. {Where are you?} I sent.<br>He sent me an image of the place, and how he'd gotten there. And then his end went black, like he'd been sedated. I teleported into the 26th ward, and then ran, to the place he'd shown me. I saw what was pretty much a hole in the wall, and ran faster, not looking where I was going. I heard alarms blaring, and turned, following them to where they were the loudest. Rose/Casssandra and Chip were there. And my Doctor. Chip was struggling to lift him, trying to put him in a small green cell.  
>"STOP!" I yelled.<br>They turned, and Chip dropped the Doctor. I winced as I heard his head hitting the ground.  
>"What are you doing here?" RoseCassandra asked.  
>I didn't answer, just ran past her, pushing Chip out of the way, and kneeling next to the Doctor. I felt his pulse. It was steady, both hearts working at a normal pace. He was just unconcious. I turned, facing RoseCassandra and Chip.  
>Chip took a step towards us. "Stay away," I growled, and he jumped back in alarm.<br>"Now now," Rose/Casssandra said, stepping closer. I bristled. "Just calm down, I don't mean to harm him," she said.  
>I narrowed my eyes at her. "You are lying," I said. She sighed.<br>"You know what, actually I am," she said. She pulled a small remote out of a pocket, and pressed a button on it. Something dropped from the roof, and I saw only black again.

Cassandra sighed, picking the last of her metal spiders off of Shadow's head. It had knocked her unconcious when it dropped, but she was afraid it was broken now. She tossed it away, turning to Chip.  
>Put him in there, and hurry!" she snapped.<p>

{Shadow,} the Doctor sent, waking me. {Be careful, don't let her know your awake,} he sent.  
>{Yes Doctor,} I said.<br>{Just listen, and wait,} he sent.  
>"You've stolen Rose's body," I heard him say. It was muffled though I cracked my eyes open. All I could see were Rose's shoes though, so I closed them again.<br>"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes left. Enjoy," she said. That was unacceptable. I was about to get up and strangle her, but the Doctor sent, {Wait}.  
>"Just let Rose go, Cassandra," he said.<br>"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger, and less common, then I'll junk her with the waste. Now hushaby. It's showtime," she said.  
>"Anything we can do to help?" I heard a new voice. One of the nurses probably.<br>"Straight to the point, Whiskers. I want money," Cassandra said.  
>{May I Doctor?} I sent.<br>{Be my guest,} he sent back. I opened the link as wide as I could, and eased my mind over the space, into his. I could see through his eyes now. There were two of the nurses there. Cassandra was standing a bit away from him, and I was on the ground behind her. Chip was standing above me, watchng his mistress with wide, adoring eyes. "The Sisterhood is a charity. We don't give money. We only accept," one of the nurses said.  
>"The humans across the water pay you a fortune, and that's exactly what I need. A one-off payment, that's all I want. Oh, and perhaps a yacht. In return for which, I shall tell the city nothing of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?" she asked.<br>"I'm afraid not," the nurse said.  
>"I'd really advise you to think about this," Cassandra said.<br>"Oh, there's no need. I have to decline," the nurse said.  
>"I'll tell them, and you've no way of stopping me. You're not exactly Nuns with Guns. You're not even armed." Cassandra said.<br>"Who needs arms when we have claws?" She said, unsheathing them.  
>"Well, nice try," Cassandra said. "Chip? Plan B."<br>Chip pulled a lever, and the door opened in front of the Doctor. I pulled out of his mind quickly, jumping to my feet once back in my own body. The Doctor stumbled out of the cell. All around, cell doors were opening, and people were coming out.  
>"What've you done?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up. See you!," she said, running away.  
>"Don't touch them! Whatever you do, don't touch!" he said, running after them. I ran after him.<br>{Who are they?} I sent to him.  
>{Flesh. They've been infected with every disease in the galaxy,} he sent back.<br>We stopped, looking down on the rest of the cells. They were all opening.  
>"Oh, my God," Cassandra said.<br>"What the hell have you done?" the Doctor asked.  
>"It wasn't me," she protested.<br>"One touch and you get every disease in the galaxy, and I want that body safe, Cassandra. We've got to go down," he said.  
>"But there's thousands of them!" she yelled.<br>"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" he yelled back, and we ran.  
>A voice blared over a speaker.<br>"The building is now under quarantine," it said. "Repeat, this building is under quarantine. No one may leave the premises. Repeat, no one may leave the premises."  
>"Keep going! Go down!" the Doctor yelled.<br>Cassabdra ran to a lift.  
>"No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving," he said.<br>"This way!" Cassandra said, running towards the place where Shadow had first seen her.  
>More of the diseased people came into the tunnel trough a side tunnel, cutting Chip off from us.<br>"Mistress, help me!" he yelled in fear. By now, I was certain that he was a deffective unit. He was afraid for himself. That was not right.  
>"Someone will touch him," the Doctor said.<br>"Leave him! He's just an artificial thing. He's only got a half life. Come on!" she yelled.  
>"Half life?" I asked. "How is that right?"<br>"Mistress!" Chip yelled.  
>"I'm sorry, I can't let her escape," the Doctor said.<br>"My Mistress!" he yelled. We turned the corner and left him behind.  
>I slammed the main door behind us, locking it. Cassandra tried to open a side door, but there were infected people there too, and she closed it quickly as they pounded on the door.<br>"We're trapped! What am I going to do?" she cried.  
>"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body. That psychograft is banned on every civilised planet. You're compressing Rose to death," he said.<br>"But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead," she protested.  
>"Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out. Give her back to me," he insisted.<br>"You asked for it," she said.  
>I closed my eyes as the energy flashed brightly. I opened my eyes, looking around in confusion.<br>"Blimey, my head," Rose said. "Where'd she go?"  
>"Oh, my. This is different," the Doctor said. My eyes widened as I realised what had happened.<br>"Cassandra?" Rose asked.  
>"Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!" she said.<br>I stepped forward threateningly. "Get out," I said.  
>"Or what?" she asked.<br>"Get out of him," Rose said.  
>"Oo, he's slim, and a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it," she said.<br>"Get out now," I said.  
>The door opened and the infected shuffled in.<br>"What do we do? What would he do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?" she shrieked with his voice.  
>"Ladder. We've got to get up," Rose said, heading for the ladder.<br>"Out of the way, blondie!" Cassandra said, pushing Rose out of the way. I hurried up after her, and Rose followed.  
>"Please, help us. Help," the infected beneath us plead.<br>"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something," Rose said.  
>"No if's, you're getting out right now," I said.<br>"Yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city," she said, ignoring me completely.  
>"We're going to die if-" she cut off as a nurse grabbed her ankle.<br>"Get off!" Rose said.  
>"All our good work. All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything," she shrieked to Rose.<br>"Go and play with a ball of string," Cassandra said.  
>I climbed up so I was level with her. I stuck my face right up to hers so she couldn't ignore me anymore.<br>"Get. Out. NOW!" I said.  
>"I. Will. NOT!," she replied.<br>"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness!" the nurse said. A diseased arm reached up and grabbed her ankle. She fell, screaming. "Move!" Rose yelled.  
>"The doors won't open," Cassandra said. "Now what do we do?"<br>Take my hand," I said. Cassandra took my hand, and Rose grabbed onto my ankle. I teleported us past the doors, into the hall.  
>We appeared in midair, and the others yelped as we fell to the ground. I twisted in mid-air, falling with grace to the ground and springing up immedtiately.<br>I hauled Cassandra to her feet.  
>"Now get out," I said.<br>"And go where?" she asked. "I'm not going back to her," she said, indicating Rose. I was done. I grabbed her neck, pinning her against the wall. She gasped, trying to pry my hands away from her neck. I squeezed more tightly, and she grimaced. "Leave, now," I said.  
>"You won't kill this body," she said.<br>I tightened my grip, and she gasped for breath.  
>"Fine," she gasped. The energy left, heading for Rose. I let the Doctor go, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.<br>He scrambled to his feet glaring at Rose. "That was your last warning Cassandra!" he said.  
>"She made me leave," she protested, pointing at me.<br>He turned to look at me, and I returned his gaze steadily.  
>He sighed. "Let's go," he said, running down the hall. Cassandra and I followed.<br>We made it to ward 26, and a woman lunged at us with a metal stand.  
>"We're safe! We're safe! We're safe! We're clean! We're clean! Look, look," he said, holding up his hands.<br>"Show me your skin," she demanded.  
>"Look, clean. Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead. So how's it going up here? What's the status?" he asked.<br>"There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left. And I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad," she said.  
>"You can't do that. If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine," he said.<br>"I am not dying in here," she said.  
>"We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There is ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!" he said.<br>"Not if it gets me out," she insisted.  
>"All right, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Shadow, Rose, novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace. Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" he yelled. We all acrambled to grab drip bags while the Doctor collected a long piece of heavy silk rope and started hanging them on his body.<br>"How's that? Will that do?" he asked.  
>"I don't know. Will it do for what?" Cassandra asked.<br>He ignored her, turning to me. "Shadow, can you teleport us down?" he asked. I shook my head.  
>"The teleportation device had been exhausted. It needs 15 hours to recharge," I said.<br>The Doctor nodded, like he'd been expecting this, and opened the lift doors.  
>"The lifts aren't working," Cassandra said.<br>"Not moving. Different thing. Here we go," he said. He put the sonic screwdriver between his teeth and ran.  
>"But you're not going to-" Cassandra didn't finish her sentence. He jumped and grabed the lift cable. "What do you think you're doing?" Cassandra asked.<br>"I'm going down! Come on!" he said. He attached a round piece of equipment to the cable.  
>"Not in a million years," she said.<br>"I need another pair of hands. What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?" he asked. She shook her head, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.  
>"Oh fine then. Shadow, come on," he said, sending me an image of what he wanted me to do.<br>I nodded, running and then jumping onto the Doctor's back. "You're completely mad," Cassandra yelled after them.  
>"Going down!" he said.<br>The improvised wheel he had attached to the cable took us down the shaft, along the wire. The Doctor put on the brake and we came stop on top of the lift. He got off, and started pouring the solutions that he had tied around himself into the decontamination pool. When he was done, he turned to me.  
>"You see that lever?" he asked. I nodded. "When I say, you need to pull that. It's going to resist, but you need to get it moving, okay?" he asked. I nodded.<br>"What about you?" I asked.  
>"I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in," he said, dropping down into the lift itself.<br>I heard the doors opening.  
>"I'm in here! Come on!" I heard him say.<br>"Pull that lever!" he yelled up. I pulled as hard as I could.  
>"Come and get me. Come on!" he yelled.<br>"I'm in here! Come on!" he said.  
>"Commence stage one decontaminaton." said the automated voice, and I realized what he was doing.<br>"Hurry up! Come on!" he yelled. The contents of the disinfectant tank were poured out, drenching him and all of the infected in the elevator with him.  
>"All they want to do is pass it on. Pass it on!" he yelled.<br>I heard hissing, and I dropped down next to him.  
>"You cured them," I said. He nodded, walking out of the lift.<br>A woman walked up and hugged him. "That's right," he said. "Hey, there we go, sweetheart. Go to him. Go on, that's it. That's it. It's a new sub-species, Shadow. A brand new form of life. New humans! Look at them. Look! Grown by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, but completely, completely alive. The human race just keeps on going, keeps on changing. Life will out! Ha!" he said, very, very happy.

"This is the NNYPD. Please step away from the shuttles," a man said on a loudspeaker. "All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat, immediate arrest. All new life forms will be catalogued and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD."  
>"The Face of Boe!" the Doctor said, running into the lift and going up. The lift stopped, and we ran to the Face of Boe, the last person left in the ward. The Doctor knelt down, so Boe could see him.<br>"You were supposed to be dying," he said.  
>"There are better things to do today. Dying can wait," he said.<br>"Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face," Cassandra said.  
>"Shh!" the Doctor said.<br>"I had grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew," Boe said.  
>"There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old," the Doctor said.<br>"There are? That would be impossible," Boe said.  
>"Wouldn't it just. I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me," he said.<br>"A great secret," Boe said.  
>"So the legend says," the Doctor said.<br>"It can wait."  
>The Doctor's face fell. "Oh, does it have to?"<br>"We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day," he said, beaming away.  
>"That is enigmatic. That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic," he said, standing. He turned to Cassandra. "And now for you."<br>"But everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?" she asked.  
>"You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra," he said.<br>"I don't want to die," she said, a bit hysterically.  
>"No one does," the Doctor said.<br>"Help me!" she begged.  
>"I can't," he said.<br>"Mistress!" A voice said. We turned to see Chip.  
>"Oh, you're alive," Cassandra said.<br>"I kept myself safe for you, mistress," he said.  
>A look of understanding came over Cassandra's face. "A body. And not just that, a volunteer," she said.<br>"Don't you dare. He's got a life of his own," The Doctor said.  
>"But I worship the mistress. I welcome her," Chip said.<br>"You can't, Cassandra, you-"  
>Cassandra transferred into Chip, and Rose collapsed into the Doctor's arms.<br>"Oh! You all right? Whoa! Okay?" he said.  
>"Yeah. Hello!" she said.<br>He smiled. " Hello. Welcome back"  
>"Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle," Cassandra said. The Doctor turned to her.<br>"You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done," he said.  
>"Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last," she said. She fell to her knees.<br>"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked, kneeling next to her.  
>"I'm fine. I'm dying, but that's fine," she said.<br>"I can take you to the city," he offered.  
>"No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me any more. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good," she said.<br>"Come on. There's one last thing I can do," he said.

He took her to her own party, the one on the recorder. We stood, and watched her, speaking to herself. We watched her die, in her own arms. And we left.  
>"What was it like?" Rose asked me afterwards.<br>"What was what like?" I asked.  
>"Having someone else in his body," she said. "What was that like?"<br>I stared at him, messing with the controls of the Tardis. "I don't know," I said.


	5. Tooth And Claw

"1979. Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb," he said, walking out of the Tardis. "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to-"  
>I heard rifles being cocked outside. "My thumb," he finished. I turned on the Shadow Device and stepped out after him.<br>We were surrounded by Redcoats. The officer in charge was on a black horse.  
>"1879. Same difference," he said.<br>"You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl," the officer said.  
>"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor said, using a scottich accent.<br>"How can you be ignorant of that?" the officer asked.  
>"Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?" he said, turning to Rose.<br>"Och, aye! I've been oot and aboot," she said, and I thought she sounded horrible, though I am no expert.  
>"No, don't do that, the Doctor said.<br>"Hoots mon," Rose said.  
>"No, really don't. Really," the Doctor said.<br>"Will you identify yourself, sir?" the officer asked.  
>"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may," he said, getting out his phsycic paper.<br>"As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself," he said.  
>"Let them approach," a woman's voice came from a carriage.<br>"I don't think that's wise, ma'am," the officer said.  
>"Let them approach," she said.<br>"You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference," the officer said.  
>A footman opened the door to reveal the Imperial Widow.<br>"Rose, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith," the Doctor said.  
>"Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies for being so naked," Rose said.<br>"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials," she said.  
>He handed her the psychic paper.<br>"Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector," she said.  
>"Does it? Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?" he asked.<br>"A tree on the line," she said.  
>"An accident?" he asked.<br>"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned," she said somewhat sourly.  
>"An assassination attempt? What, seriously? There's people out to kill you?" Rose asked.<br>"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," Victoria said.  
>"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow," the officer said.<br>"This Doctor and his timorous beastie will come with us," Victoria said.  
>"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall," the officer said.<br>"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!" she said.  
>We walked with the soldiers behind the carriage.<br>"It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her," Rose said.  
>"1879? She's had, oh, six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else. We just met Queen Victoria!" he said.<br>"I know!" Rose said.  
>"What a laugh!" the Doctor said.<br>"She was just sitting there," Rose said.  
>"Like a stamp," he replied.<br>"I want her to say we are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it," Rose said.  
>"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time," he pointed out.<br>"Ten quid?" Rose asked.  
>"Done," he said.<p>

We arrived at Torchwood House, and I was about to turn off my Shadow Device.  
>{No, leave it on,} the Doctor sent.<br>{Yes Doctor} I replied.  
>A man walked out and bowed to Queen Victoria.<br>"Your Majesty," he said.  
>"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?" She asked.<br>"She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on," he said.  
>"Oh, not at all. I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked girl," she said.<br>"Sorry," Rose said.  
>"She's a feral child," the Doctor said. "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It's was her or the Elephant Man, so..." "Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused. What do you think, Ma'am?" she asked the queen.<br>"It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?" she asked.  
>"So close," Rose whispered to the Doctor.<br>The Queen walked into the house.  
>"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property. Hurry up," the officer said.<br>"Yes, sir," one of them said. They took a small locked box from the carriage and carried it into the house.  
>"So what's in there, then?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir. The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions," the officer said.  
>The Doctor and Rose entered the house, but I stood outside for a minute. Something felt wrong. No, something was wrong. I ran after my Doctor.<p>

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," Victoria said, reffering to a massive brass telescope.  
>"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself," Sir Robert said.<br>"I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Help yourself," Sir Robert said.<br>"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked, looking into the telescope.  
>"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories," Sir Robert said.<br>"It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of-" he broke off, looking at Rose. "Am I being rude again?" he asked.  
>"Yep," Rose said.<br>"But it's pretty. It's very pretty," he said.  
>"And the imagination of it should be applauded," Victoria said.<br>"Mmm. Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty," Rose said. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something? No?"  
>"This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales," she said.<br>"Stars and magic. I like him more and more," the Doctor said.  
>"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg," Victoria said.<br>"That's Bavaria," the Doctor said.  
>"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," Victoria said.<br>"So, what's this wolf, then?" the Doctor asked.  
>"It's just a story," Sir Robert said.<br>"Then tell it," the Doctor said.  
>"It's said that-"<br>"Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark," a bald man in butler's dress said.  
>"Of course. Yes, of course," Sir Robert said.<br>"And then supper. And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness," Victoria said.  
>"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose asked.<br>"Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight," Victoria said.  
>"So there is, Ma'am," Sir Robert said.<p>

I pulled the Doctor aside just before supper.  
>{Something is not right here,} I sent, not wanting to risk being overheard.<br>{What is it?} he sent back.  
>{I don't know,} I sent. {It just feels wrong.}<br>{Well, maybe we'll get some trouble our way,} he sent happily.  
>{That would be a very bad thing Doctor,} I sent.<br>{Yes it would,} he sent back.  
>{You hope there is trouble, don't you?} I sent accusingly.<br>{Oh, of course. I can never resist trouble,} he sent as he walked into the dining room.  
>I shook my head and followed him, invisible to the others.<br>"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her," the butler said.  
>"Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham," he said.<br>"The feral child could probably eat it raw," Victoria said.  
>"Very wise, Ma'am. Very witty," the officer, who I had learned was called Reynolds, said.<br>"Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury," she said.  
>"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am," Reynolds said.<br>"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert. Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares," the Doctor said.  
>"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction," Victoria said.<br>"You must miss him," the Doctor said.  
>"Very much. Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait. Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters," she said.<br>"The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured," Sir Robert said.  
>"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that," Reynolds said.<br>"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead," Sir Robert said.  
>"Are there descriptions of the creature?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal," Sir Robert said.  
>"A werewolf?" the Doctor asked.<br>"My father didn't treat it as a story," Sir Robert said, speaking quickly. "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations," he said.  
>"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," Victoria said.<br>"That's what I thought. But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf? And what if they were with us right now?" the Doctor asked.  
>"What is the meaning of this?" Victoria asked.<br>"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!" Reynolds demanded.  
>"What's happening?" Victoria said.<br>"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife," Sir Robert said.  
>"Rose! Where's Rose? Where is she? Sir Robert, come on!" the Doctor said, running out the door. I followed him.<br>We ran down a corridor, and heard Rose's voice.  
>"One, two, three, pull!" she yelled.<br>There was a snap as the end of the chain broke free of the wall. The Doctor and Robert kicked their way in, and I followed them into the cellar. "Where the hell have you been?" Rose asked.  
>The Doctor ignored her, looking at something in a crate that I had already noticed.<br>"Oh, that's beautiful," he said. I stared in horror at the thing. Beautiful was hardly the word I would use to describe the creature in teh cage, like a wolf, and like a man at the same time.  
>"Come on, go. Get out!" Sir Robert said.<br>The werewolf broke the bars of the cage. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" I yelled.  
>"Doctor, Come on!" Rose yelled at him. The Doctor stared at the thing in admiration, then ducked as it threw a piece of crate at him. He ran out and locked the door with the sonic screwdriver.<br>We heard the things howl, echoing through the house.  
>The Steward handed out the contents of the gun cupboard to the men.<br>"Arms, and you five. Ready, everyone?" he asked. He turned to Lady Isobel. "Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen," he told her. "I can't leave you. What will you do?" she said to her husband.  
>"I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me, just go," he said.<br>"All of you, at my side. Come on!" she said.  
>"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?" the Doctor asked Rose.<br>"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it," Rose replied.  
>There was a crash of something bursting through a wooden door. The Doctor went out to investigate and saw the werewolf at the other end of the passageway. He ran back in and grabbed Rose.<br>"Fire! Fire!" the steward said.  
>"All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me," the Doctor said.<br>"I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault," the steward said.  
>"I'm telling you, come upstairs!" the Doctor said.<br>"And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall," he said.  
>"I would listen to the Doctor," I said, turning off my Shadow Device.<br>The Steward ignored me, stepping into the corridor then looking back at us.  
>"It must have crawled away to die," he said.<br>The Steward was hoisted up to the ceiling, screaming.  
>"There's nothing we can do!" the Doctor said. We all ran, following Sir Robert.<br>He burst into a room, and Victoria was there.  
>"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!" Sir Robert said.<br>"Sir Robert? What's happening? I heard such terrible noises," Victoria said.  
>"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?" Sir Robert asked.<br>"Captain Reynolds disposed of him," Victoria said. She noticed me. "Who is that?" she asked.  
>"She's a friend," the Doctor said. "The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window."<br>"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress," Sir Robert said.  
>"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," Victoria said.<br>"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor asked, his fake scottish accent gone. Sir Robert opened the window, and we all ducked as the monks outside opened fire.  
>"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," the Doctor said.<br>"Do they know who I am?" Victoria asked.  
>"Yeah, that's why they want you. The wolf's lined you up for a, a biting," Rose said.<br>"Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf," Victoria said.  
>The wolf howled.<br>"What do we do?" Rose asked.  
>"We run," the Doctor said.<br>"Is that it?" Rose asked.  
>"You got any silver bullets?" he asked.<br>"Not on me, no," she replied.  
>"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigourous jog. Good for the health. Come on!" he said. We ran up the staricase, and the werewolf smashed it's way out of below stairs and followed us.<br>"Come on! Come on!" the Doctor said.  
>The werewolf was nearly upon us when Reynolds turned and shot at it. It retreated. "I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty," he said.<br>"I have it. It's safe," Victoria said.  
>"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown," Reynolds said. I thoght that wa a bit harsh. He was a being of emotion, and the object of his affections had been frocibly taken from him and held. Of course he'd acted rashly.<br>"Bullets can't stop it!" the Doctor said.  
>"They'll buy you time. Now run!" Reynolds said.<br>Reynolds emptied his revolver at the werewolf before it pounced on him. "Rose!" the Doctor yelled.  
>He dragged her inside the room, Reynolds screams echoing after them. "Barricade the door," Sir Robert said, and we did.<br>"Wait a minute. Shush, shush, wait a minute," the Doctor said.  
>There was a howl outside, just one, lonely howl.<br>"It's stopped," he said. "It's gone."  
>"Listen," I said.<br>We could hear footsteps and growls from outside the room.  
>"Is this the only door?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Yes. No!" he said, rushin to barricade the other door. The Doctor, Rose and I helped, and it was done quickly.  
>"Shush," Rose said. The noises continued outside. "I don't understand. What's stopping it?" Rose asked.<br>"Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I'll tell you what, though," Rose said.<br>"What?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Werewolf," Rose said.<br>"I know. You all right?" he asked.  
>"I'm okay, yeah," she said.<br>"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?" Sir Robert asked.  
>"Well, they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy," the Doctor said.<br>"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now," Rose said.  
>"Do you think this is funny?" Victoria asked.<br>"No, Ma'am. I'm sorry," Rose said. "What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?" Victoria asked.  
>"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform," the Doctor said.<br>"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?" Victoria asked.  
>"Oh right, sorry, that's-"<br>"I'll not have it. No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world," she said firmly.  
>There was silence for a few minutes.<br>"Alright, so any bright idea's for getting out?" Rose asked hopefully.  
>I turned to the Doctor. "I could teleport us out. I can jump three at a time. We should leave Doctor."<br>He shook his head. "No, we can't," he said. "Why not?" I asked.  
>"Because there's a werewolf on the loose Shadow. We can't just leave it," he said.<br>{And what if you're killed?} I sent.  
>{Then I'm killed,} he sent back. {No disaster.}<br>{I die with you,} I sent.  
>{Yeah, I know that,} he sent.<br>{There will be no more Time Lords,} I said.  
>{I know that too,} he sent.<br>{If things get too bad, I will just teleport out with you,} I sent.  
>{Fair enough,} he said.<br>He looked at a carving of mistletoe on the door.  
>"Mistletoe. Sir Robert, did you father put that there?" he asked.<br>"I don't know. I suppose," Sir Robert replied.  
>"On the other door, too. No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder," the Doctor said.<br>He licked the woodwork.  
>{You look insane,} I sent.<br>"Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe," he said, ignoring me. "It's been worked into the wood like a varnish. How clever was your dad? I love him. Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."  
>"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.<br>"Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things," the Doctor said.  
>"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon," Sir Robert said.<br>"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" the Doctor said.  
>"Being rude again," Rose said.<br>"Good. I meant that one. You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have," he said.  
>He threws some books to Rose. "Arm yourself," he said.<br>"Biology, zoology. There might be something on wolves in here," Rose said.  
>"Hold on, what about this? A book on mistletoe," the Doctor said.<br>"A book on magic," Rose said.  
>I stood there, not knowing what to do. The Doctor noticed.<br>"Grab a book Shadow, start reading," he said.  
>"I can't read," I said. He looked at me. I shrugged. "No one ever taught me.<br>He pointed at me. "I'll teach you sometime. That is a valuable life skill your missing there." He went back to the books.  
>"Some form of explosive," Sir Robert said.<br>"Hmm, that's the sort of thing," the Doctor said.  
>"Wolf's bane, what about that?"<br>"Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth," the Doctor said.  
>" A spaceship?" Rose asked.<br>"A shooting star." He started reading. "In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."  
>"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?" Rose asked.<br>"Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host," the Doctor said.  
>"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asked.<br>"That's what it wants. It said so. The, the Empire of the Wolf," Rose said.  
>"Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake," the Doctor said.<br>"Sir Robert. If I am to die here," Victoria said.  
>"Don't say that, Your Majesty," Sir Robert said.<br>"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself," she said.  
>"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor said.<br>"Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this," she said, pulling an enormous diamond out of her handbag.  
>"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked.<br>"Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world," the Doctor said.  
>"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die," Victoria said.<br>"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I?" he asked. Victoria nodded, handing him the diamond, which he examined. "That is so beautiful," I said.  
>"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.<br>"They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week," the Doctor said.  
>"Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing," Rose said.<br>"And she'd win," the Doctor said.  
>"Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence," Sir Robert said.<br>"Why do you travel with it?" the Doctor asked.  
>"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting," Victoria said.<br>"But it's perfect," Rose said.  
>"My late husband never thought so," Victoria said.<br>"Now, there's a fact. Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting," the Doctor said.  
>"He always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished," Victoria said.<br>"Unfinished. Oh, yes," the Doctor said.  
>He threw the stone back to Victoria. "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head. What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?" the Doctor said.<br>"Obviously," Victoria said.  
>"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?" he asked.<br>"Explain yourself, Doctor," she demanded.  
>"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf," the Doctor said.<br>Plaster dust fell from the ceiling. We looked up to the domes skylight.  
>"That wolf there," he said, pointing at it.<br>The glass in the skylight cracked. "Out! Out! Out!" the Doctor yelled. We all ran out.  
>The Doctor shut the mistletoe doors on the werewolf. "Your Majesty!" Sir Robert yelled.<br>"Get to the observatory!" the Doctor said.  
>The werewolf caught up with Rose. She screamed, and then a pan of liquid was thrown over it. It retreated.<br>"Good shot," the Doctor said.  
>"It was mistletoe," one of the maids said.<br>"Isobel!" Sir Robert cried. Robert and Isobel kissed. "Now, get back downstairs," Robert told her.  
>"Keep yourself safe," she said.<br>"Go," he said.  
>"Girls, come with me. Down the back stairs, back to the kitchens. Quickly!" she instructed them.<br>"Come on!" the Doctor yelled.  
>"The observatory's this way," Sir Robert said. We ran up the staircase, and reached the observatory doors.<br>"No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside," the Doctor said. "I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?" he asked.  
>"Just do your work and I'll defend it," Sir Robert sid, grabbign a sword off the wall.<br>"If we could bind them shut with rope or something," the Doctor said.  
>"I said I'd find you time, Sir. Now get inside," Robert said.<br>"Good man," the Doctor said.  
>"Your Majesty, the diamond," the Doctor held out his hand.<br>"For what purpose?" Victoria asked.  
>"The purpose it was designed for," he replied. Victoria handed over the diamond.<br>"Rose," the Doctor said. They went to the control wheels and started raising the telescope up. "Lift it. Come on," the Doctor said.  
>"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose asked.<br>"Yes it is," the Doctor said.  
>"You said this thing doesn't work," Rose said.<br>"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is. It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up," he said.  
>"It won't work. There's no electricity. Moonlight. But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight," Rose said.<br>"You humans are seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on! Come on!" he yelled.  
>The moon shone down into the telescope lens and bounced between the prisms, magnifying as it went. The werewolf broke in and went for Queen Victoria. I slid the diamond over to where the light hit the floor. It refracted upwards, catching the werewolf in its beam and lifting it up off the floor. The wolf turned back into a young man, hanging as if crucified in mid air. "Make it brighter. Let me go," the werewold said.<br>The Doctor adjusted the magnification on the eyepiece. The man turned back into a wolf, howled and vanished. Victoria looked at a small scratch on her wrist.  
>"Your Majesty? Did it bite you?" the Doctor asked.<br>"No, it's, it's a cut, that's all," she replied.  
>"If that thing bit you," the Doctor started.<br>"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It's nothing," she said.  
>"Let me see," he said, reaching for her wrist.<br>She snatched her wrist away. "It is nothing," she said.

It was morning, and we were in the presence of the whole household. The Doctor and Rose knelt before Queen Victoria, who was armed with a sword. I was nervous, although the Doctor had explained this procedure times several times. I had my Shadow Device turned on, and my hand on his back and Roses back, ready to teleport in a moment.  
>"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis," she said, tappig him with the flat of the blade. She took the sword away, and I relaxed, standing.<br>"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. You may stand," she said.  
>"Many thanks, Ma'am," the Doctor said.<br>"Thanks. They're never going to believe this back home," Rose said.  
>"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave," the Doctor said.<br>"Indeed. Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused," Victoria said.  
>"Yes!" Rose said, looking at the Doctor triumphantly.<br>"Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you," she said.  
>"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked.<br>"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return," she said.

We were walking down the road back to the Tardis. "No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood," the Doctor said. "It's historical record. She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere."  
>"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose asked.<br>"Well, maybe haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism," he said.  
>"For werewolf?" Rose asked.<br>"Could be," he said.  
>"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?" she asked.<br>"Could be. And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip," he said.  
>"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose asked.<br>"Well, maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?" he said.  
>"Nah, that's just ridiculous! Mind you, Princess Anne," she said.<br>"I'll say no more," he said.  
>"And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know. And they like hunting!" she said. We walked into the Tardis. "They love blood sports. Oh my God, they're werewolves!" she exclaimed, giggling.<br>{Have I ever told you that you speak more than is neccesary?} I sent to the Doctor.  
>{No, I don't believe you have,} he sent back, grinning at me.<p> 


	6. School Reunion

I was standing in the corner of the classroom with my Shadow Device activated, watching the Doctor write on a black board. I still thought this was absurd. He just couldn't keep out of trouble. And having been in his head from time to time, I knew beyond a doubt that he actually went looking for it sometimes.  
>"So, physics. Physics, eh?" he said, turning to the children. "Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics. I hope one of you is getting all this down. Okay let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" he asked.<br>A young boy with spectacles put his hand up.  
>"Yes, er, what's your name?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Milo," he replied.  
>"Milo! Off you go," he said.<br>"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge," he said. I listened a little more closely. I might learn something useful here.  
>"Correctamundo!" the Doctor said. "A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again. Question two. I coil up a thin piece of microwire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this. How do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?" he asked.<br>Only Milo's hand went up. Everyone else looked entirely bored. "Someone else?" the Doctor asked. "No? Okay, Milo, go for it."  
>"Measure the current and PDs in an ammeter and a voltmeter," Milo said. I carefully stored the information away in the easily accessable data chip installed in my head.<br>"Two to Milo. Right then, Milo, tell me this. True or false. The greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings," the Doctor asked.  
>"False," Milo said. Interesting, I thought.<br>"What is non-coding DNA?" the Doctor asked.  
>"DNA that doesn't code for a protein." I had no idea how I was going to ever need that information, but I stored it anyway. I could delete it if i ran out of storage space.<br>"Sixty five thousand nine hundred and eighty three times five?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Three hundred and twenty nine thousand nine hundred and fifteen," Milo replied. I didn't bother storing that. I was good with numbers.<br>"How do you travel faster than light?" the Doctor asked.  
>"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of thirty six point seven recurring," Milo said. I stored that too, and then stopped, realizing that the human boy had answered a question that the smartest of his race would not be able to answer for centuries to come.<br>I looked at the Doctor, who was staring at the boy open-mouthed in astonishment.  
>{He is too smart,} I sent.<br>{Humans won't figure that out for another 500 years,} he sent back. {So how does this Milo know?}  
>{I cannot answer that,} I sent.<p>

We were standing in line for dinner. Rose(Who was posing as a dinner lady) slopped mash onto the Doctor's tray, giving him something of an annoyed look. He walked away with a grin. I stepped up next, got the human food, and followed him, sitting next to him at the table.  
>A few minutes later she came over to wipe our table off. "Two days," she said to the Doctor.<br>"Sorry, could you just? There's a bit of gravy. No, no, just, just there," he said. He seemed to be immensely enjoying this new activity, which I supposed must be called Mock Rose For Being A Dinner Lady. "Two days, we've been here," she complained.  
>"Blame your boyfriend. He's the one who put us onto this. And he was right. Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth," the Doctor said.<br>"There is something odd about this aricle of food," I said, holding up one of the chips.  
>"Yeah, they're a bit different," the Doctor said, examining his.<br>"I think they're gorgeous. Wish I had school dinners like this," Rose said.  
>"It's very well behaved, this place," the Doctor said.<br>"Mmm," Rose replied.  
>"Doctor," I said.<br>"I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies," he said, ignoring me. "Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones. Huh? Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in," he said.  
>"What is ASBOs?" I asked.<br>The head dinner lady came over.  
>"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting," she said to Rose.<br>"I was just talking to this teacher," she replied.  
>"Hello," the Doctor said, waving.<br>"He doesn't like the chips," she said.  
>"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now, get back to work," the head dinner lady said, walking away.<br>"See? This is me. Dinner lady," Rose said.  
>"I'll have the crumble," the Doctor said.<br>"I'm so going to kill you," she said.  
>"No you are not," I replied.<p>

We were in the teachers lounge, and the Doctor was talking to a man called Parsons.  
>"Yesterday, I had a twelve year old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy in cubits," he was telling the Doctor. "And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot, except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that," Parsons replied. I grinned a that.  
>"How's that weird?" the Doctor asked innocently.<br>"She never played. Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight," Parsons replied.  
>"Hmm. The world is very strange," the Doctor said.<br>The Headmaster entered. "Excuse me, colleagues," said the headmaster, a man called Finch. I didn't like him. He was odd. There was a lot of odd stuff in this institution.  
>"A moment of your time. May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times. I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak. Don't spare my blushes," he said, turning and leaving.<br>"Hello," Sarah said.  
>"Oh, I should think so," the Doctor said.<br>{Do you know her?} I sent.  
>{Oh yes I do,} he sent back.<br>"And, you are?" she asked.  
>"Hm? Er, Smith. John Smith," he said.<br>"John Smith. I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name," she said.  
>"Well, it's a very common name," he replied.<br>"He was a very uncommon man. Nice to meet you," she said.  
>"Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant," he said.<br>{How do you know her?} I asked.  
>"Er, so, er, have you worked here long?" Sarah asked him.<br>"No. Er, it's only my second day," he said, ignoring me.  
>"Oh, you're new, then. So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" she asked.<br>{Doctor,} I prodded.  
>"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile," he said, blocking our link.<br>"Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here," she said.  
>"No. Good for you," he said, grinning widely.<br>Sarah walked away from the Doctor, moving on to a womam called Mrs. Jenkens.  
>"Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith," the Doctor said.<br>I mentally poked our link.  
>{Yes, what is it Shadow?} he sent.<br>{How do you know her?} I asked.  
>{She used to travel with me. It was before you came, a long while before,} he replied.<p>

We were in the school. It was midnight, and the halls were deserted.  
>"Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school," Rose commented.<br>"All right, team," he said, then stopped. "Oh, I hate people who say team. Er, gang. Er, comrades. Companions. Anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers. Go and check out the Maths department. I'm going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes," he said. He walked off, and I followed him. We turned down a hall, to see someone standing in the hall. I recognized Sarah Jane Smith. She was opening the storage room that the Doctor had stored the Tardis in. She opened the door, and froze as she saw the Tardis inside.  
>"Hello, Sarah Jane," he said, getting her attention.<br>She turned. "It's you. Oh, Doctor Oh, my God, it's you, isn't it. You've regenerated," she said.  
>"Yeah. Half a dozen times since we last met," he said.<br>"You look incredible," she said.  
>"So do you," he replied.<br>"Huh. I got old. What are you doing here?" she asked.  
>"Well, UFO sighting, school gets record results. I couldn't resist. What about you?" he asked.<br>"The same. I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died," she said.  
>"I lived. Everyone else died," he said. He looked at the space where I was standing, Shadow Device activated. "Shadow, turn that thing off, you don't need it," he said. I obliged.<br>Sarah gaped at me for a second. "Who's that?" she asked the Doctor.  
>"That's Shadow. She's an Artificially Grown Life Form," he explained.<br>"Oh," she said. She held out her hand. "Sarah Jane Smith," she said. I already knew who she was, but I shook her hand anyways. It was good to be polite. Make allies to help keep the Doctor safe.  
>"I thought you must have died," she said to the Doctor.<br>"I lived. Everybody else died," he said.  
>"What do you mean?" she asked.<br>"Everyone died, Sarah," he said.  
>"I can't believe it's you," she said.<br>We heard Mickey scream.  
>"Okay, now I can!" she said.<br>Rose ran up.  
>"Did you hear that?" she asked. She noticed Sarah Jane. "Who's she?" she asked.<br>"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose," the Doctor said.  
>"Hi. Nice to meet you. You can tell you're getting older. Your assistants are getting younger," she said.<br>"I'm not his assistant," Rose protested.  
>"No? Get you, tiger," Sarah said.<br>{I do not understand,} I sent the Doctor.  
>{You do not need to,} he sent back.<br>We ran through the halls, heading in the direction that the scream had come from.  
>"Sorry! Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me," he said, indicating packages on the floor. "Oh, my God, they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats," Rose said.<br>"And you decided to scream," the Doctor said to Mickey.  
>"It took me by surprise!" Mickey said.<br>"Like a little girl?" the Doctor said. In human society, this is considered an insult if directed at a male I believe.  
>"It was dark! I was covered in rats!" Mickey protested.<br>"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt," the Doctor said.  
>"Hello, can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?" Rose asked.<br>"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" Sarah Jane said.  
>{Is this considered an insult?} I sent the Doctor.<br>{Could be,} he sent back.  
>"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?" Rose asked.<br>{Was that an insult?} I asked.  
>The Doctor cleared his throat, ignoring me. "Anyway, moving on. Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. We should go and check his office," he said.<br>We walked into the hall, heading toward Finch's office. The Doctor seemed a bit tense to me.  
>"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?" Rose asked Sarah.<br>"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor," she replied.  
>"Oh. Well, he's never mentioned you," Rose said.<br>"Oh, I must've done. Sarah Jane. Mention her all the time," he said, looking at Rose significantly.  
>"Hold on. Sorry. Never," Rose said.<br>"What, not even once? He didn't mention me even once?" Sarah Jane said.  
>Mickey clapped the Doctor on the back. "Ho, ho, mate. The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare," he said cheerily.<br>We made it to the the headmaster's office, and the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the lock.  
>"Maybe those rats were food," the Doctor said.<br>"Food for what?" she asked.  
>The door swung open. I saw giant bats, hanging from the ceiling.<br>"Rose, you know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school? Well, they do," the Doctor said.  
>"No way!" Micky said. He turned and ran. The Doctor closed the door and we followed.<br>We ran out into the schoolyard.  
>"I am not going back in there. No way," Mickey said.<br>"Those were teachers," Rose said.  
>"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on," the Doctor said, heading back into the school.<br>"Come on? You've got to be kidding!" Mickey said.  
>"I need the Tardis. I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen," the Doctor said.<br>"I might be able to help you there. I've got something to show you," she said.  
>We followed Sarah Jane to the parking lot, and then to her car. She unlocked the trunk. Inside the trunk, was a metal dog.<br>"K9!" the Doctor said. "Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9. well, K9 Mark Three to be precise," he said. "Why does he look so disco?" Rose asked.  
>"Oi!" he said indignantly. "Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge. What's happened to him?" he asked Sarah Jane.<br>"Oh, one day, he just, nothing," she said.  
>"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro, Beside, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone," Sarah said.  
>"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?" the Doctor said.<br>"Look, no offence, but could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog. We're busy," Rose said.

We were in a coffee shop, and I was taking a nap. I was woken by a noise like rusty gears grinding to life. I opened my eyes, and looked around.  
>"Oh, hey. Now we're in business," the Doctor said.<br>The dog spoke. "Master," it said.  
>"He recognises me," the Doctor said, sounding overjoyed.<br>"Affirmative," K9 said.  
>"Rose, give us the oil," the doctor said.<br>Rose handed it over. "I wouldn't touch it, though. That dinner lady got all scorched," she said.  
>"I'm no dinner lady. And I don't often say that," he replied.<br>The Doctor smeared a sample on to K9's probe.  
>"Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go," he said.<br>"Oil. Ex ex ex extract. Ana ana analysing," the dog said.  
>"Listen to him, man. That's a voice," Mickey said.<br>"Careful. That's my dog," Sarah said threateningly.  
>"Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krillitane Oil," K9 said.<br>"They're Krillitanes," the Doctor said, not sounding happy at all.  
>"Is that bad?" Rose asked.<br>"Very. Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad," the Doctor said.  
>"And what are Krillitanes?" Sarah asked.<br>"They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognise them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks," he said.  
>"What're they doing here?" Rose asked.<br>"It's the children. They're doing something to the children," the Doctor replied.  
>Sarah and Mickey went out ahead to put K9 back in the back of Sarah's car. The Doctor stared at the wall for a few minutes, and I didn't need a physcic link with him to know that he was thinking hard.<br>"Come on," Rose said. "Let's go.  
>We walked out of the coffe shop, and I acitvated the Shadow Device. Just out of habit.<br>"How many of us have there been travelling with you?" Rose asked. "Does it matter?" he said.  
>"Yeah, it does, if I'm just the latest in a long line," she said.<br>"As opposed to what?" he asked.  
>"I thought you and me were. I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year five billion, right, but this? Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?" she asked.<br>"No. Not to you," he said.  
>"But Sarah Jane? You were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?" she asked.<br>"I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you-" he stopped.  
>"What, Doctor?" she asked.<br>"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords," he said.  
>I looked up, just on a hunch, and saw a giant bat swooping.<br>"DUCK!" I yelled. The Doctor and Rose ducked and it flew off. "Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah asked.  
>The Doctor just nodded.<p>

It was the next morning, and we were going back to the school.  
>"Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this. Shadow, you go with them," he said, pulling out the Sonic Screwdriver. Rose held out her hand, but the Doctor gave the screwdriver to Sarah. He turned to Mickey.<br>"Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside," the Doctor said.  
>"Just stand outside?" Mickey asked.<br>"Here, take these you can keep K9 company," Sarah Jane said, tossing him her car keys.  
>"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," the Doctor said.<br>"But he's metal!" Mickey said.  
>"I didn't mean for him," the Doctor said.<br>"What're you going to do?" Rose asked.  
>"It's time I had a word with Mister Finch," he said.<br>"I am staying with you," I said.  
>"Rose and Sarah are going to need you more than I will. And I'll be fine," he said.<br>"You'll get killed," I said. "I'm not leaving you."  
>"What's the worst that could happen?" he said.<br>"You die," I replied.  
>"But I'm not going to die. The Krilitane want me alive, they must, or they would have killed me last night. And I can take care of myself in any case," he said.<br>I hesitated.  
>"And if Rose and Sarah get caught, then I'll have to go rescue them, and then I'll get killed for sure," he said quickly. I glared at him.<br>{Keep the link wide open,} I sent.  
>"Will do,"he said aloud, running down the hall.<p>

Sarah wasn't making progress with the school computers. I was getting impatient. I could still feel the Doctor, and he was fine. But I did not like being anywhere but at his side. It went against core instincts.  
>"It's not working," Sarah said.<br>"Give it to me," Rose said.  
>"Used to work first time in my day, Sarah said.<br>"Well, things were a lot simpler back then," Rose said.  
>"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?" Sarah asked. I turned my Shadow Device on, and stepped away from the pair of them.<br>"I've got a feeling you're about to," Rose said.  
>"I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be, and I don't want you to feel I'm intruding," Sarah started.<br>"I don't feel threatened by you, if that's what you mean," Rose said.  
>"Right. Good. Because I'm not interested in picking up where we left off," Sarah said.<br>"No? With the big sad eyes and the robot dog? What else were you doing last night?" Rose asked.  
>"I was just saying how hard it was adjusting to life back on Earth," Sarah said. I had no idea what they were talking about, and it occured to me that I had missed something by taking that nap.<br>"The thing is, when you two met they'd only just got rid of rationing. No wonder all that space stuff was a bit too much for you," Rose said, standing.  
>"I had no problem with space stuff. I saw things you wouldn't believe," Sarah said.<br>"Try me," Rose said challengingly.  
>"Mummies," Sarah Jane said.<br>"I've met ghosts," Rose said.  
>"Robots. Lots of robots," Sarah said.<br>"Slitheen, in Downing Street," Rose said.  
>"Wait, that was you?" I asked. I slapped myself mentally. I had been two streets away from the Doctor, and idiot that I was, I hadn't known!<br>"Daleks!" Sarah went on, not noticing me(Shadow Device).  
>"Met the Emperor," Rose said.<br>"Anti-matter monsters," Sarah said.  
>"Gas-masked zombies," Rose said.<br>"Real living dinosaurs," said Sarah.  
>"Real living werewolf," Rose replied.<br>"The Loch Ness Monster!" Sarah said.  
>"Seriously? Rose asked. They paused. "Listen to us," Rose said. "It's like me and my mate Shireen. The only time we fell out was over a man, and we're arguing over the Doctor. With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go, what? And he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?" Rose asked.<br>"All the time. Does he still stroke bits of the Tardis?" Sarah said.  
>"Yeah! Yeah, he does. I'm like, do you two want to be alone?" Rose said.<br>They both laughed, and I marveled at the way a human's emotions could jump around, changing at a seconds notice.  
>The Doctor entered the room, and saw them laughing. I walked over to stand behind him.<br>"How's it going?" he asked.  
>They looked at him and laughed harder.<br>"What? Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these," he said, indicating the computers.  
>Hysteria seemed to be setting in.<br>"What? Stop it," he said.  
>He looked around. "Shadow?" he asked. I turned off the Shadow Device.<br>"Yes?" I asked.  
>"What's wrong with them?" he asked.<br>"I'm not entirely certain," I said.

"All pupils to class immediately. And would all members of staff congregate in the staff room," A voice said over the speaker.  
>Rose went to the door, and sent whatever children came away.<br>"No, no. This classroom's out of bounds," I heard her saying. "You've all got to go to the South Hall. Off you go. South Hall!"  
>The Doctor had wires looped all around his neck and shoulders as he tried to get inside the CPU. "I can't shift it," he said.<br>"I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!" Sarah said.  
>"Anything except a deadlock seal. There's got to be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?" he asked himself.<br>The screens lit up, and symbols apeared, moving quickly from one to another.  
>"You wanted the programme? There it is," Sarah Jane said.<br>"Some sort of code," the Doctor said.  
>It started to resolve itself.<br>"No. No, that can't be," the Doctor saod.  
>"What is it?" Rose asked.<br>"The Skasis Paradigm. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm," he said.  
>"The Skasis what?" Sarah asked.<br>"The God maker," I said, plucking the thought out of his head. "The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."  
>The Doctor nodded.<br>"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked.  
>"Yes. And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer," he said.<br>"But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them," she said.  
>"I said there was something odd about the chips, didn't I?" I asked.<br>"What's fifty nine times thirty five?" the Doctor asked Rose, ignoring me.  
>"Two thousand and sixty five. Oh, my God," she said. I did not understand. How was being smarter a bad thing?<br>"But why use children? Can't they use adults?" Sarah asked.  
>"No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code, they're using their souls," the Doctor said.<br>"Let the lesson begin," someone said from behind us. We turned, to see Finch standing in the doorway. "Think of it, Doctor," he said. "With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."  
>"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are," the Doctor said. I had no arguement.<br>"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order? Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good," Finch said.  
>"What, by someone like you?" the Doctor asked.<br>"No, someone like you. The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God at my side. Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords reborn," Finch said.  
>"Doctor, don't listen to him," Sarah Jane. I merely stood behind him. I had no opinion in this matter. If he joined them, he lived. If he did not, I would make sure he still lived. Simple as that.<br>"And you could be with him throughout eternity," he said to Sarah jane "Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die. Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us," Finch said.  
>"I could save everyone," the Doctor said.<br>"Yes," Finch said.  
>"I could stop the war," he said.<br>"No," Sarah Jane said. "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."  
>The Doctor moved suddeny, throwing a chair at the big screen, smashing it.<br>"Out!" he yelled.  
>We ran, through the halls, adn down some stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, we almost ran right into Mickey, who had boy and K9 with him.<br>"What is going on?" Mickey asked.  
>We heard a screech from above, and turned to see the Krillitanes coming.<br>We ran again, to the canteen this time.  
>Finch walked in after us, followed by the bats.<br>"Are they my teachers?" the boy said.  
>"Yeah. Sorry," the Doctor said.<br>"We need the Doctor alive. As for the others? You can feast," Finch said, which would have been fine by me, except my Shadow Device didn't seem to keep the Krilitanes from seeing me. I needed to stay alive to carry out my orders.  
>The Krillitanes swooped,and we dived under tables. Suddenly a laser beam felled one of the bats.<br>"K9!" Sarah Jane cried in relief.  
>"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress," K9 said.<br>"Listen to the dog," I yelled.  
>"Come on!" the Doctor yelled. "K9, hold them back!" the Doctor yelled over his shoulder.<br>"Affirmative, master. Maximum defence mode," K9 said. The Doctor sealed the doors, and we ran, following the others.  
>"It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Barrels of it," Rose said.  
>The Krillitanes banged on the door.<br>"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey," the Doctor said.  
>"What now, hold the coats?" Mickey asked.<br>"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" the Doctor asked. In response, I set off the fire alarm, and we ran in direction of the kitchen.  
>"Master," K9 said, catching up, which meant that the Krilitanes were out too.<br>"Come on, boy. Good boy," the Doctor said.  
>We reached the kitchen, and the Doctor locked the door with the screwdriver, and then tried to open the barrels of oil.<br>"They've been deadlock sealed. Finch must've done that. I can't open them," he said.  
>"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing," K9 said.<br>"Right. Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me," the Doctor said. {You go too Shadow,} he sent.  
>{You must be losing it,} I sent back. {I'm not going anywhere.}<br>{Well, it was worth a try,} he sent. {Help me line these up,} he sent, pushing a barrel of oil in front of another.  
>"Capacity for only one shot, Master. For maximum impact, I must be stationed directly beside the vat," K9 said.<br>"But you'll be trapped inside," the Doctor said.  
>"That is correct," K9 said.<br>"I can't let you do that," the Doctor said.  
>"No alternative possible, Master," K9 said.<br>The Krilitane banged on the door.  
>"Goodbye, old friend," the Doctor said.<br>"Goodbye, Master," K9 said.  
>"You good dog," the Doctor said.<br>"Affirmative," k9 said.  
>He ran out the back, but I stayed, looking at the little tin dog regretfully. He had proved useful in keeping the Doctor alive so far. He could help so much more. I knelt down behind him and placed a hand on his back.<br>"When you find him, eat him if you must, but bring me his brain," Finch said, referring to my Doctor.  
>"Get ready K9," I said.<br>Finch saw the dog and me. "The girl and little dog with a nasty bite. Not so powerful now, are you?" he said to K9.  
>"NOW K9!" I yelled.<br>He fired, and I teleported.

"You've redecorated," Sarah Jane said, talking about the Tardis.  
>"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do," she said.  
>"I love it," Rose said.<br>"Hey, you what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?" Sarah asked Rose.  
>"No idea. It's gone now. The oil's faded," Rose replied.<br>"But you're still clever. More than a match for him," Sarah said.  
>"You and me both. Doctor?" Rose asked.<br>"Er, we're about to head off, but you could come with us," the Doctor offered.  
>"No. I can't do this anymore. Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own," Sarah said.<br>"Can I come? No, not with you, I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there," Mickey said.  
>"Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board," Sarah said.<br>"Okay then, I could do with a laugh" the Doctor said.  
>"Rose, is that okay?" Mickey asked.<br>"No, great. Why not?" she said. It was obvious to me that she was lying.  
>"Well, I'd better go," Sarah said.<br>"What do I do? Do I stay with him?" Rose asked Sarah.  
>"Yes. Some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Find me, if you need to, one day. Find me," Sarah said. She turned to the Doctor. "It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," she said.<br>"Something to tell the grandkids," he told her.  
>"Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now," she replied.<br>"Right. Yes, sorry. I didn't get a chance to ask. You haven't? There hasn't been anyone? You know," he said.  
>"Well, there was this one guy. I travelled with him for a while, but he was a tough act to follow. Goodbye, Doctor," she said.<br>"Oh, it's not goodbye," he said.  
>"Do say it. Please. This time. Say it," she said.<br>"Goodbye, my Sarah Jane," he said, hugging her.  
>She left, and he went to the controls, pushing buttons and ringing bells and pulling levers.<br>{Why did you save K9?} he sent.  
>{He is a useful tool. An ingenious piece of technology. It would have been a waste to let him be destroyed,} I replied.<br>{Is that so?} he asked. {You know Shadow, sometimes I doubt if you are actually as devoid of emotion as you claim to be.}  
>{Don't be ridiculous,} I sent. {I have no emotions other than the instincts pre-programmed into my being.}<br>{Of course you don't,} he said.


	7. The Girl In The Fireplace

We stepped out of the Tardis, into a spaceship.  
>"It's a spaceship! Brilliant, I got a spaceship on my first go!" Mickey said.<br>"Looks kind of abandoned... Anyone on board?" Rose asked.  
>"Nah, nothing here. Well! Nothing dangerous. Well! Not that dangerous," the Doctor said. He paused. "You know what, I'll just have a quick scan... in case there's anything dangerous," he said.<br>Rose smirked as he walked over to a control panel in the centre of the room and started tapping at some buttons.  
>"So, what's the date? How far we gone?" Rose asked.<br>"About three thousand years into your future, give or take," the Doctor said.  
>He flicked on a switch and the lights turn on, the roof gradually opening into a window which showed a spectacular view of the stars outside.<br>"Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey! Two and a half galaxies!" he said.  
>Mickey moved to a porthole, and gazed out in awe. Rose walked over and placed her hands on his shoulder, smiling, as the Doctor rummaged around the control panel, picking up bits and pieces of presumably broken technology and looking unimpressed.<br>"Mickey Smith, meet the universe. See anything you like?" Rose said.  
>"It's so realistic!" Mickey said.<br>"Dear me, had some cowboys in here! Got a ton of repair work going on," the Doctor said.  
>He chucked the pieces down casually, noticing a screen with a diagram of the spaceship on it. Rose and Mickey joined him to look at it.<br>"Now that's odd, look at that. All the warp engines are going... full capacity! There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe... and we're not moving. So where's all that power going?" he asked.  
>"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor leaned forward and tweaked some knobs on the control panel.  
>"Good question, no life readings on board," he said.<br>"Well, we're in deep space; they didn't just nip out for a quick fag," Rose said.  
>"Nope, checked all the smoking pods," the Doctor said.<br>There was a pause as we all looked around. The Doctor sniffed.  
>"Can you smell that?" he asked.<br>"Yeah, someone's cooking," Rose said.  
>"Sunday roast, definitely!" Mickey said.<br>The Doctor pressed a button, and a door opened behind us. We walked through and saw part of the wall and floor with 18th decor, as well as a familiar looking lit fireplace.  
>"Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century! French! Nice mantel," the Doctor said. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the fireplace. "Not a hologram."<br>He bent down to examine it more closely while Mickey and Rose looked around the rest of the room.  
>"Not even a reproduction, this actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double-sided, there's another room through there," the Doctor said.<br>"There can't be, that's the outer hull of the ship, look," Rose said, pointing out a porthole.  
>The Doctor crouched down, looking through the fire into the other room. A young girl with long blonde hair, dressed in a nightgown, looked back at him.<br>"Hello!" the Doctor said.  
>"Hello," the girl said, sounding uncertain.<br>"What's your name?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Reinette," the girl replied.<br>"Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?" he asked.  
>"In my bedroom," she replied, sounding a bit suspicious.<br>"And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Paris, of course!" she replied.<br>"Paris, right!" the Doctor said.  
>"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" Reinette asked.<br>"Oh, it's just a routine... fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?" he asked.  
>"Of course I can! Seventeen hundred and twenty seven," she replied.<br>"Right, lovely! One of my favourites... August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night night!" he said.  
>"Goodnight Monsieur," Reinette said.<br>The Doctor stood, looking at the wall thoughtfully.  
>"You said this was the fifty-first century," Mickey said.<br>"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink," he said.  
>{You made that up,} I sent accusingly.<br>"What's that?" Mickey asked.  
>"Shadow's right, I just made it up. Didn't wanna say 'magic door'," he said.<br>"And on the other side of the ' magic door'," Rose said Magic Door in a deep voice. "is France in 1727?" she continued, using her normal voice. I felt something, like a flash. Just a feeling. Like I was missing something. I didn't know what it was, and I shook it off.  
>The Doctor nodded, looking back at the fireplace before walking across the room, taking his coat off and throwing it in the corner.<br>"Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too," he said.  
>"She was speaking English, I heard her!" Mickey said.<br>Rose draped her arm around Mickey's neck as the Doctor strode back to the fireplace.  
>"That's the Tardis - translates for ya," she said.<br>"Even French?" Mickey asked incredulously.  
>"Yep," Rose said.<br>The Doctor kneed the side of the fireplace and that section of the wall began to rotate, taking the Doctor with it.  
>"Gotcha!" the Doctor said. I hurried to avoid being left in the ship.<br>"Doctor!" Rose yelled, disappearing from view.  
>Once the fireplace finished turning, I looked around, and saw that we were standing in a dark and shadowy bedroom, with the young Reinette asleep in her bed. I heard a clock ticking. The Doctor wandered towards the window. Outside, I could see a Paris skyline, and it was snowing. I heard a horse neigh.<br>Reinette sat up in bed, and I prodded the Doctor mentally.  
>"It's okay! Don't scream! It's me, it's the fireplace man. Look," he said, turning to her.<br>He walked over and lit a candle by her bed with the sonic screwdriver. She still looked startled.  
>"We were talking, just a moment ago. I was in your fireplace," he said.<br>"Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months!" she exclaimed.  
>"Really? Oh," he said, surprised.<br>He walked back to the fireplace and knocked on it, listening to the sound produced.  
>"Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in," he said.<br>"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Reinette asked.  
>He didn't reply, staring instead at the clock on the mantel with his mouth open, looking slightly fearful.<br>"Okay, that's scary," he said.  
>"You're scared of a broken clock?" she said.<br>"Just a bit scared, yeah. Just a little tiny bit. 'Cause you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room..." he paused, turning to look back at Reinette. "Then what's that?" he said.  
>The sound of ticking grew louder and Reinette looked around, clearly scared again. The Doctor stood still, speaking slowly and quietly.<br>"'Cause you see that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. Size of a man," he said.  
>"What is it?"Reinette asked.<br>The Doctor checked behind the curtains, finding nothing. "Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticks and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do: break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two?" he said. "You might start to wonder if you're really alone," he said.  
>He moved towards the bed and crouched down, pulling the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.<br>"Doctor, be carful," I said, standing still.  
>"Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge," he told Reinette.<br>He peered underneath the bed before turning on the sonic screwdriver to scan. Suddenly something reached out, smacking him backwards, and knocking the screwdriver out of his hand. I started moving, but he stopped me.  
>{Stay still,} he sent. I stood still as stone.<br>Reinette gasped, and the Doctor scrambled back to look underneath. {Doctor, it's not under there anymore,} I sent, showing him the thing that was standing on the other side of the bed.  
>The Doctor slowly stood, looking at Reinette with wide eyes.<br>"Reinette, Don't look round," he whispered.  
>A figure was standing on the other side of the bed, wearing a creepy clown-like mask and leering down at Reinette, who looked terrified.<br>"You stay exactly where you are," the Doctor told Reinette.  
>The Doctor stood up to look straight at the figure. He glanced back at Reinette, then at the figure, and then back at Reinette, looking discomforted by something.<br>"Hold still, let me look," he said.  
>He bent down and grasped Reinette's head between his hands, staring intently into her eyes with a disturbed expression before looking back at the figure.<br>"You've been scanning her brain!" he said to the thing.  
>He paused, looking once more into Reinette's eyes before standing up straight again.<br>"What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?" he asked.  
>"I don't understand... it wants me?" she asked. She looked round at the figure, not even flinching. "You want me?" she asked.<br>The figure's head twitched to one side and it spoke in a distinctly mechanical voice.  
>"Not yet. You are incomplete," it said.<br>"'Incomplete'? What's that mean, 'incomplete'?" the Doctor asked.  
>The droid did not answer, but continued staring at Reinette. The Doctor stood up, producing the sonic screwdriver and pointing it threateningly at the droid.<br>"You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, 'incomplete'?" he asked.  
>{Doctor,} I sent in warning.<br>The droid again did not answer, instead walking in jerky movements around the bed and facing the Doctor. The droid extended an arm and a menacing looking blade slid out near the Doctor's face. He tilted his head away.  
>I started to move, but he stopped me again.<br>{Shadow, stay away,} he sent. {It's closer, it'll take my head off before you can blink.}  
>{Doctor, what do I do?} I asked.<br>{Just wait,} he said.  
>"Monsieur, be careful!" Reinette said.<br>"Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares," he said.  
>I started movig, inching my way towards the Doctor and the thing.<br>The Doctor backed away, the droid pursuing. It swiped at the Doctor, who ducked. That was it for me. I teleported, directly behind the creature, and tapped the back of it's head.  
>It turned to me, and swiped with the blade. I teleported away again.<br>{Shadow, stay back,} the Doctor sent.  
>{I will. For the moment} I sent.<br>"Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?" he said.  
>The thing turned back to him, slashing at him again. He jumped aside, and the droid's blade hit the mantel, getting stuck.<br>"What do monsters have nightmares about?" Reinette asked.  
>As the droid struggled, the Doctor turned the fireplace around, I ran, making it to the fireplace just in time as we turned back to the ship.<br>"Me, ha!" he yelled into the room.  
>"Doctor!" Rose yelled as we came around.<br>As the fireplace finished turning, the Doctor ran grabing a gun-like object from the wall, and sprayed the thing with a substance that I recognised as Liquid Nitrogen. It convulsed in a last, vain attempt to free itself before freezing completely.  
>"Excellent, ice gun!" Mickey said.<br>The Doctor threw the 'gun' to Rose, who caught it.  
>"Fire extinguisher," he said.<br>"Where did that thing come from?" Rose asked, referring to the masked clock thing.  
>"Here," the Doctor said.<br>"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey said.  
>"Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol - nice needlework! Shame about the face," he said.<br>He squinted at the thing. He pulled off the wig to reveal its actual head - an ornate clockwork mechanism, covered with a clear plastic egg shape. He examined it. "Oh, you are beautiful!" he said.  
>Mickey and Rose edged closer in curiosity, and the Doctor put on his glasses to examine it more closely.<br>"No really, you are, you're gorgeous! Look at that! Space age clockwork, I love it! I've got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart - and, by the way, count those - it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you," he said.  
>He took one last wistful look at the droid before holding up the sonic screwdriver.<br>"But that won't stop me," he said.  
>The thing creaked back into life and teleported away. Rose and Mickey blinked and look around, and the Doctor stuffed the screwdriver back into his pocket, walking swiftly back to the fireplace and preparing to go back to the other side.<br>"Short range teleport, like Shadow's. Can't have got far. Could still be on board-" he stopped.  
>"What is it?" Rose asked.<br>He pointed at Rose and Mickey. "Don't go looking for it!" he said.  
>"Where're you going?" Rose asked.<br>"Back in a sec," he said, turning the fireplace.  
>We were back in the bedroom, now standing by the fireplace. I turned on my Shadow Device. The Doctor stepped away from the fireplace and called out.<br>"Reinette! Just checking you're okay," he said, idly brushing a hand across the strings of a harp.  
>Reinette, walked into the room. She looked much older, but it was obviously the same girl. She paused, recognising the Doctor. He didn't notice her until she cleared her throat.<br>He turned wuickly. "Oh! Hello!" he said, quickly putting away his glasses, clearly surprised and at least marginally distracted by her appearance.  
>"Um, I was just looking for Reinette. Uh, this is still her room, isn't it? I've been away, not sure how long," he said.<br>{Doctor,} I sent.  
>{Not now Shadow,} he sent back.<br>"Reinette! We're ready to go!" a voice called from outside the room.  
>"Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there," she yelled.<br>A grin of realisation spread across the Doctor's face.  
>{I tried to tell you,} I sent.<br>"It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence," Reinette said.  
>"Reinette," he said.<br>Reinette smiled.  
>"Well," he said. He swallowed, looking her up and down. "Goodness, how you've grown," he said.<br>"And you do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you," she said.  
>"Right... yes... sorry. Um... umm... umm.. listen, lovely to catch up, but er, better be off, eh? Don't want your mother finding you up here with a strange man, do we?" he said.<br>"Strange? How could you be a stranger to me? I have known you since I was seven years old," she said.  
>"Yeah... I suppose you have," he said. He laughed a bit. "I came the quick route," he said.<br>Reinette touched the Doctor's cheek, examining him. His eyes widened. "Well, you seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate, but this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real," she said.  
>He shook his head. "Oh, pfft... You never want to listen to reason," he said.<br>"Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient," someone said from outside.  
>"A moment!" she yelled back impatiently.<br>She looked back at the Doctor. "So many questions. So little time," she said.  
>She pulled the Doctor towards her and kissed him passionately on the lips. I watched as they stumbled backwards into the mantelpiece, the Doctor starting to kiss her back.<br>{Doctor,} I sent, trying to get his attention. I don't think he even heard me.  
>"Mademoiselle Poisson!" someone yelled again.<br>Reinette broke the kiss and ran to the open door, grabbing a purse from her dressing table as she went, without so much as a backward glance. The Doctor and I watched her go. A man came to the door but stopped dead as he noticed the Doctor. "Poisson?" the Doctor asked. I felt the click in his head. "Reinette Poisson?" he asked.  
>The servant looked bemused by the Doctor's presence.<br>"No... no, no, no, no, no way, Reinette Poisson?" he yelled. He ran right up to the man.  
>"Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France? Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan? Fantastic gardener!" he laughed, running back to the fireplace.<br>"Who the hell are you?" the man asked.  
>The Doctor reached the fireplace and found the trigger back to the ship.<br>"I'm the Doctor. And I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!" he said giddily.  
>The fireplace revolved again, taking us with it as the Doctor laughed manically. He stepped back onto the ship. "Rose!" he yelled.<br>There was no one there. He looked around.  
>{They seem to have gone,} I sent, stating the obvious.<br>"Mickey?" he said. "Every time, every time, it's rule one - Don't wander off! I tell them, I do, rule one! There could be anything on this ship!" he said, walking off. I followed him.  
>He turned the corner and almost ran into a white horse standing in the middle of the corridor. The Doctor blinked while the horse whinnied.<br>{What is that?} I sent.  
>{That's a horse,} he sent back.<br>{Oh,} I sent.  
>We walked on, the horse following us. We crossed a junction of corridors, completely lost.<br>"Rose?" the Doctor called out, in a singsong voice. I froze, light flashing in front my eyes. It was gone in an instant, and I shook my head to clear it, running to catch up with the Doctor and the horse. The Doctor stoped to look down a corridor before turning to the horse.  
>"Will you stop following me? I'm not your mother!" he said irritably.<br>The horse nosed him. The Doctor moved away, having spotted a set of white, French double doors. He opened them. "So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?" he asked.  
>The Doctor walked out onto a grassy courtyard, once again in Versailles. I saw a familiar figure, Reinette and another were laughing, walking arm in arm. The Doctor ran over to a low wall, watching them from there.<br>"Oh, Catherine, you are too wicked!" Reinette said to the other lady. I stood behind the wall with the Doctor.  
>Reinette turned around as though she had spotted something out of the corner of her eye. The Doctor ducked down behind the wall just in time. Her eyes lingered on me, and I had the strangest feeling she could see me. She looked away again though, and I dismissed the thought.<br>"Oh, speaking of wicked, I hear Madame de Chateneux is ill and close to death," Catherine said.  
>"Yes. I am devastated," Reinette said. She laughed.<br>"Oh, indeed. I myself am frequently inconsolable," Catherine said.  
>The Doctor smiled. "The King will therefore be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?" Catherine asked Reinette.<br>"He is the King. And I love him with all my heart. And I look forward to meeting him," Reinette said.  
>Catherine laughed, and Reinette turned back. The Doctor ducked behind the pillar again, and I went with him too this time.<br>{Why did you duck?} he sent.  
>{I think she can see me,} I sent back.<br>"Is something wrong, my dear?" Catherine asked.  
>"Not wrong, no," Reinette replied.<br>The Doctor straightened up a little. After a pause, the ladies linked arms and started walking again. The Doctor straightened up fully and leaned on the wall again.  
>"Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions," Catherine said.<br>"Every woman in Paris shares them," Reinette replied.  
>"You know of course that the King is to attend the Yew Tree ball?" Catherine asked.<br>They got too far away for us to hear. The Doctor turned, walking back through the doors into the spaceship. "What do you mean, 'you think she could see you?" he asked me.  
>"She looked right at me. I think she could see me" I said.<br>"You already said that," he said.  
>"What more could I say?" I asked.<br>I heard Rose's voice then. "I think we're looking through a mirror," she said.  
>We turned the corner, to see Mickey and Rose looking out of a mirror.<br>"Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?" Mickey asked as a man entered the room on the other side of the mirror.  
>"King of France," the Doctor said.<br>Rose turned. "Oh, here's trouble. What you been up to?" she asked.  
>He watched the king through the mirror.<br>"Oh, this and that. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat... picked a fight with a clockwork man," he replied.  
>The horse whinnied from around the corner. "Oh, and I met a horse," he added.<br>The horse trotted into view. "What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked.  
>"Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective," he said.<br>The Doctor looked through the window. "See these?" he said, pointing to the mirror. "They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history..." He placed a finger on the glass as Reinette entered the room. "Hers. Time windows... deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty-first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?" he asked.  
>"Who is she?" Rose asked.<br>"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived," he said.  
>"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" Rose asked.<br>"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress," the Doctor said.  
>"Oh, I get it. Camilla," Rose said.<br>"What?" I asked. Rose and Mickey laughed, not noticing me(Shadow Device).  
>The king left the room.<br>"I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace... even her own title - Madame de Pompadour," he said.  
>Reinette stood before the mirror, preening herself.<br>"Queen must have loved her," Rose said.  
>"Oh, she did. They get on very well," the Doctor said.<br>"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?"  
>"France. It's a different planet," the Doctor said.<br>I heard ticking, louder than it should have been. The Doctor spotted the clock on the mantelpiece. It had been shattered.  
>Reinette heard the ticking too, and turned.<br>"How long have you been standing there?" she said to a figure standing in the corner of the room, facing the wall. "Show yourself!"  
>The figure turned suddenly, reveaing itself to be one of the clockwork things. It started to advance.<br>"The Doctor grabbed the fire extinguisher from Mickey and swung the mirror around, stepping back into Reinette's world. "Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?" he said.  
>"Fireplace man!" she said.<br>The Doctor stepped past her and sprayed the droid with the fire extinguisher. He threw the extinguisher back to Mickey. The droid started to click and whirr loudly. "What's it doing?" Mickey asked.  
>"Switching back on. Melting the ice," the Doctor replied.<br>"And then what?" Mickey asked.  
>"Then it kills everyone in the room," the Doctor replied.<br>The clockwork thing's arm shot out towards the Doctor's throat, and he jumped back towards Reinette.  
>"Focuses the mind, doesn't it?" he said to the clockwork thing. "Who are you? Identify yourself."<br>The droid cocked its head to the side, but did not answer.  
>"Order it to answer me," the Doctor told Reinette.<br>"Why should it listen to me?" she asked.  
>"I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it," he said.<br>"Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you," she commanded it.  
>The droid lowered its arm. "I am repair droid seven," it said.<br>"So what happened to the ship, then? There was a lot of damage," the Doctor asked.  
>"Ion storm, eighty two percent systems failure," the droid replied.<br>"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?" he asked.  
>"We did not have the parts," the droid replied.<br>Mickey laughed. "Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts," he said.  
>"What's happened to the crew, where are they?" he asked.<br>"We did not have the parts," the droid repeated.  
>"There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?" he asked.<br>"We did not have the parts," it said again.  
>"Fifty people don't just disappear! Where-"<br>{Doctor,} I sent, cutting him off. I sent him an idea.  
>His mouth dropped open. "Oh. You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew," he said.<br>"The crew?" Mickey asked.  
>"We found a camera with an eye in it... and there was a heart... wired in to machinery," Rose said.<br>"It was just what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No-one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?" he asked Rose.  
>"Someone cooking," Rose said quietly.<br>"Flesh plus heat. Barbeque," he said.  
>Reinette looked slightly sick. I was quite a bit more sympathetic with these things now. They were just carrying out their orders, after all. Like me.<br>"But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows, that takes colossal energy. Why come here, you could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?" he asked.  
>"One more part is required," the droid said.<br>The Droid's head jerked towards Reinette. We all turned to stare at her. The Doctor looked back at the Droid.  
>"Then why haven't you taken it?" he asked.<br>"She is incomplete," the droid replied.  
>"What... so, that's the plan then? Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's 'done yet'?" he asked.<br>"Why her?" Rose asked.  
>The Doctor turned to her, surprised at the abruptness of her question.<br>"You've got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?" Roe asked.  
>"We are the same," the droid said.<br>"We are not the same, we are in no sense the same!" Reinette said.  
>"We are the same," the droid said.<br>Reinette walked right up to it. "Get out of here! Get out of here this instant!" she said.  
>"Reinette, no," the Doctor said. He wanted to question it further.<br>The Droid activated a teleport and disappeared. "It's back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur, get after it. Follow it, don't approach it, just watch what it does," he told them.  
>"Arthur?" Rose asked.<br>"Good name for a horse," the Doctor said.  
>Rose looked exasperated. "No, you're not keeping the horse!" she said.<br>"He let you keep Mickey! Now go!" I yelled at her.  
>{Was that humor?} the Doctor sent.<br>{Never,} I sent back. {I was stating a fact,}  
>Mickey and Rose ran back through the mirror portal. The Doctor closed it behind them and turns back to Reinette.<br>"Reinette, you're going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they're looking for, there's only one way I can do that. Won't hurt a bit," he said.  
>Reinette nodded her assent and the Doctor placed his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes. Reinette also closed hers. I closed my link with the Doctor, not wanting to intrude on her mind.<br>"Fireplace man... you are inside my mind," she said.  
>"Oh dear, Reinette. You've had some cowboys in here," he said.<br>"You are in my memories. You walk among them," Reinette said.  
>"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I won't look. Ooh.. actually... there's a door just there," he said.<br>Reinette opened her eyes and grined slyly.  
>"You might want to clo- ooh. Actually, several," he said. I was glad I had closed or link.<br>"To walk among the memories of another living soul... do you ever get used to this?" Reinette asked.  
>"I don't make a habit of it," he said.<br>"How can you resist?" she asked.  
>"What age are you?" he asked her.<br>"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising," she said.  
>"No, not my question - theirs. You're twenty-three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough," he said.<br>Reinette flinched. "Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect," he said.  
>The link between me and the Doctor opened, and Reinette's mind brushed against mine. I pushed her away, closing the link again. I twitched. There was that feeling again, like there was something I ought to see, but could not. Like a long forgotten memory, brought back to the surface by some familiarity. Then it passed, and I was left staring at the Doctor and Reinette.<br>"Oh, such a lonely childhood," she said.  
>"It'll pass. Stay with me," he said.<br>"Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone," she said.  
>"What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life-" he stopped, his eyes snapping open. "When did you start calling me 'Doctor'?" he asked.<br>"Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then and lonelier now," she opened her eyes. "How can you bear it?" she asked.  
>"How did you do that?" he asked, stepping back.<br>"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction," she said.  
>{She is strong in mind,} I sent, reopening our link. {I bet she did see me, that day in the garden.}<br>The Doctor stared at Reinette, looking more vulnerable than I'd ever seen him.  
>"Oh, Doctor," she said, stepping towards him. "My lonely Doctor. Dance with me," she said.<br>"I can't," he said.  
>"Dance with me," she insisted.<br>"This is the night you dance with the King," he said.  
>"Then first, I shall make him jealous," she said.<br>"I can't," he said. I closed our link again. There were just too many foreign emotions running through him. Too many for me.  
>"Doctor... Doctor who?" she asked. She looked at him for a few moments.<br>"It's more than just a secret, isn't it?" she asked.  
>"What did you see?" he asked.<br>"That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance," she said. She smiled and taking his hand, and leading him away. And I, shadow that I was, followed.

The party was awful. He danced, and danced, and then danced some more. I had no idea what to do. I sat in a chair off to the side, and watched him make a fool of himself. He made a banana thing, that apparently should not have been around for a few more years. And he got drunk. I had no appreciation for alchohol. It dulls the senses and ruins ones ability to focus.  
>After a while, I just fell asleep. The only immediate dnager he was in was falling and breaking his neck from not paying attention to where he was going. So I took a nap.<br>{YOUIE!} he yelled into our link.  
>I sat upright, wide awake. {Are there droids?} I asked.<br>{Come on, we're going,} he said.  
>{Where are you?} I asked, looking around at the thinning crowd, and not seeing him anywhere.<br>{Through the mirror,} he sent.  
>{Show me where you are,} I sent, running back through the mirror.<br>"NOPE, COME FIND ME!" he yelled down the hall. I ran after him, following the sound of his singing.  
>"I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night..." he sand loudly. Stupid humans. Or Time Lords. They seemed to be just as bad as humans.<br>I ran into a room, but instead of seeing the Doctor, I saw Rose and Mickey, tied on tables, the droids looking like they were ready to dissect them.  
>Rose was talking to the one above her. I could hear the Doctor getting closer, his voice coming from the other corridor.<br>"They called him the- they called him the- the-" she stammered.  
>The Doctor staggered into the room through the other door, dancing with an imaginary partner. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses and had his tie around his head.<br>"And still have begged for moooore..." he sang.  
>{You sound awful,} I sent.<br>{Don't be a pill,} he sent back, singing more loudly. "I could've spread my wings and done a thou- have you met the French?" he asked Rose. "My... GOD, they know how to party," he said.  
>{I'm sure,} I sent sourly.<br>"Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm," Rose said.  
>"Oh, you sound just like your mother," he said.<br>"What've you been doing? Where've you been?" Rose asked him crossly.  
>"Well... among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early," he said.<br>Rose laid back, exasperated.  
>"Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before!" he said, walking over to her table. He leaned over her.<br>"Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are GOOD," he said sincerely. He noticed the droids.  
>"Oh ho ho ho ho, brilliant," he said to one of them. "It's you! You're my favourite, you are, you are the best! Do you know why? 'Cause you're so THICK. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania," he said. He paused. "And so's your dad," he said as an afterthought.<br>He strolled away.  
>"Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?" he asked. He sniggered.<br>"Her milometer. They wanna know how old she is. Know why? 'Cause this ship is thirty-seven years old. And they think that when Reinette is thirty-seven, when she's 'complete', then her brain will be compatible. So, that's what you're missing, isn't it?" he asked, staring one of the droids mockingly in the face. "Hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason - God knows what - only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do," he said.  
>"The brain is compatible," the droid said.<br>"Compatible?" he asked. He approached the droid. "If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine," he said. He removed the droid's mask and poured the 'wine' into the clockwork inside the head of the droid. He replaced the mask and patted it on the head as it wound down. Rose leaned back in relief.  
>"Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't," he said, suddenly sober.<br>{Were you pretending to be drunk?} I sent.  
>{Maybe,} he said.<br>A droid from the corner of the room began to advance, but the Doctor quickly deactivated it using a nearby lever.  
>"Right, you two, that's enough lying about," he said to Mickey and Rose.<br>He released Rose and Mickey quickly with the sonic screwdriver, and they slid down the tables onto the floor.  
>{Why would you pretend to be intoxicated?} I sent.<br>{It was fun. You should have seen your face when I walked in the room,} he sent. "{Also, the droids deemed me less of a threat in that state.}  
>"Time we got the rest of the ship turned off," he said aloud.<br>"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked.  
>He pulled the tie down and pushed the sunglasses up.<br>"Yep. Safe. Safe and thick. Way I like them. Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down," he said, feeling in his pockets. "Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs?" he said. He looked around for them. "I had them a minute ago, I was using them as castanets," he said.  
>"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty-seven?" Rose asked.<br>"With the amount of damage to these circuits, they'll be lucky to hit the right century. Trial and error after that," he said. He tried to operate the computer. "The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?"he asked.  
>There was an ominous pinging sound.<br>"What's that?" Rose asked.  
>"I don't know... incoming message?" he said.<br>"From who?" Mickey asked.  
>"Report from the field... one of them must still be out there with Reinette! That's why I can't close the windows, there's an override!" he said.<br>{Doctor, look out behind you,} I sent in warning.  
>Behind him, one of the clockwork droids sprang to life with a whirring sound. Rose gasped. The droid expellde the 'wine' the Doctor had poured into its mechanics over the Doctor's shoe. "Well, that was a bit clever," the Doctor said.<br>The rest of the droids spring to life, filling the room with ticking. "Right... many things about this are not good," the Doctor said.  
>The pinging sounded again. "Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?" he asked.<br>"She is complete. It begins," one of the droids said.  
>They teleported out. "What's happening?" Rose asked.<br>"One of them must've found the right time window, and now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head," he said.

Rose ran into the room.  
>"You found it, then?" she asked.<br>"They knew I was coming. They blocked it off," he said, pointing to the time window. "But they got through," Rose said.  
>"They teleported - you saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick," he said.<br>"Well, you can have Shadow take you," Rose said.  
>He shook his head. "No, hers isn't tuned properly. She can't teleport through time."<br>"Then we'll go in the Tardis," Rose said.  
>"We can't use the TARDIS, we're part of events now," the Doctor said.<br>"Well, can't we just smash through it?" Mickey asked.  
>"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck," the Doctor replied.<br>"We don't have a truck," Mickey said.  
>"I know we don't have a truck!" the Doctor shouted.<br>"Well, we've gotta try something!" Rose said.  
>"No, smash the glass, smash the time window, they'd be no way back," he said.<br>Rose stared at him. "Well, you said Shadow's teleport wasn't tuned properly, how long would it take to tune it?" Rose asked.  
>"We can't tune it, it's wired into her. We'd have to perform surgery, and we don't have time," he said.<br>Arthur the horse winnied from in the corridor, and I felt a thought forming in the Doctor's head.  
>{You would be trapped,} I sent.<br>{Doesn't matter,} he sent. {Take care of Rose. Get her home,} he sent.  
>{Why?} I sent.<br>He didn't reply, just went over to Arthur, mounting the already saddled horse.  
>{Wait a minute,} I sent. He kicked the horse, and Arthur ran towards the glass.<br>"DOCTOR!" I yelled. "YOU CAN't LEAVE ME HERE!"  
>He broke through the glass, and the window disappeared.<br>I ran up to what was now a brick wall, and slapped it, feeling pain as my hand collided with the stone.  
>{Doctor?} I reached through our link.<br>{Not now Shadow,} he sent back. Our link was intact. That was good. But what good did that do my Doctor? I could not leave him whenever he was. I remembered. 18th century france. I could use Reinette's life as a guidline. It had been 1727 when we'd first met her, and she'd been seven then. That meant that he was somewhen in 1857.  
>"Rose, Mickey, come," I said, heading for the Tardis.<br>"Where are you going?" Rose asked.  
>"I'm going to get the Doctor," I said, marching through the halls of the ship. I turned the corner and saw the Tardis. I opened the door and marched in.<br>Rose and Mickey followed. "What are you gonna do?" Mickey asked.  
>"Don't talk to me, I need to think," I said.<br>I reached for the Doctor.  
>{How do I fly the Tardis?} I asked.<br>{Don't Shadow, you can't use the Tardis,} he sent.  
>{Tell me how to fly it, or I'll find out myself,} I sent.<br>He didn't send anything for a few minutes.  
>{Do you see a lever next to a big orange button?} he asked.<br>{Yes,} I sent.  
>{Good, pull that.}<p>

We landed in the garden. It was morning outside the Tardis, and the Doctor was waiting for us on a bench.  
>"You shouldn't have come," he said.<br>"I had no choice," I replied.  
>"You would risk making holes in fabric of space and time just to follow me?" he asked.<br>"Protect the last Time Lord at any cost," I said. "These are my orders. That is my purpose. My only reason to be here. Nothing else matters."  
>He sighed, and then walked past me into the Tardis. I looked out at the gardens, and something flashed. I heard laughter. A child's laughter. And I saw-<br>Then it was gone. I shook my head to clear it, and followed him into the Tardis.


	8. Rise Of The Cybermen

We were on the Tardis, and the Doctor and Rose were both slumped in chairs next to each other while Mickey stood by the console, pressing a button. Rose and the Doctor were relating a story to Mickey.  
>"And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes? Do you remember? - the way she looked at you! And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!" the Doctor said.<br>Rose laughed. "I thought I was gonna get frazzled!" she said.  
>"Yeah! One minute she's standing there, and the next minute - rawwwh!" He and Rose mimiced fire coming out of their mouths, almost killing themselves laughing. Mickey nodded and smiled. I just stared at the ceiling, not really following. "Yeah... where- where was that, then? What happened?" Mickey asked.<br>"Oh, it was on this um... uh, this uh... planet thing, asteroid. It's a long story, you had to be there. Um... what're you pressing that for?" the Doctor asked Mickey. Mickey was still pressing the button.  
>"Cos you told me to," he replied.<br>The Doctor blinked. "When was that?" he asked.  
>"About half an hour ago," Mickey said.<br>"Um. You can let go now," the Doctor said.  
>Mickey let go and Rose sniggered.<br>"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?" Mickey asked.  
>"Ten minutes? Twenty? ... Twenty-nine?" the Doctor replied uncertainly.<br>"You just forgot me!" Mickey said indignantly.  
>"No, no, no! I was just- I was just... I was calibrating. I was just... no, I know exactly what I'm doing," the Doctor said.<br>Then the Tardis console exploded. Violently. Sparks and flames flew everywhere.  
>The Doctor scrambled to his feet and frantically tried to operate the console. "What's happened?" Rose asked.<br>"The time vortex is gone! That's impossible - it's just gone! Brace yourself! We're gonna crash!" the Doctor said. We crashed, and were all thrown backwards. Gas masks fell from the ceiling. All the lights in the Tardis went out and it was very dark.  
>"Everyone all right? Rose - Mickey? Shadow?" he asked.<br>{Are you all right?} I asked.  
>{Well, you seem fine,} he sent back.<br>{I am,} I sent.  
>"I'm fine. I'm okay, sorry," Mickey said from the other side of the console.<br>We all stood. The Doctor looked up at the rotor and the console. "She's dead," he said.  
>There was a clicking as the engines cooled down. Smoke rose from the console. "The TARDIS is dead," he said in disbelief.<br>He walked slowly around the console. "You can fix it?" Rose asked.  
>"There's nothing to fix. She's perished," he said.<br>He pulled a lever back and forth fruitlessly. "The last TARDIS in the universe... extinct," he said.  
>I was sorry for him, but otherwise, I didn't really care. He was alive, and alive is alive is alive is alive. Nothing else mattered.<br>"We can get help, yeah?" Rose asked.  
>"Where from?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Well, we've landed - we've gotta be somewhere," Rose said.  
>"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no-place... the silent realm... the lost dimension," the Doctor said.<br>I frowned. He was incorrect.  
>"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey said from the door, grinning.<br>He laughed and stepped out of the door, and into 21st century London. Rose, the Doctor and I followed him.  
>"London, England, Earth. Hold on," Mickey said,<br>He jumped down off the low wall and picks a paper out of a dustbin and looks at the cover.  
>"First of February this year - not exactly far-flung, is it?" Mickey said.<br>Rose jumped down and looked over his shoulder. The Doctor jumped down, looking around.  
>"So, this is London," I said.<br>"Yep," Mickey replied.  
>"Your city," I said.<br>"That's the one," Mickey said.  
>"Just as you left it?"I asked.<br>"Bang on," Mickey said.  
>"And that includes the zeppelins?" the Doctor asked.<br>Rose and Mickey looked up at him, then followed his gaze. The sky was full of zeppelins.  
>"What the hell...?" Mickey asked.<br>"That's beautiful," Rose said.  
>"Okay. So, it's London with a big international zeppelin festival," Mickey said.<br>"This is not your world," I said.  
>"But if the date's the same-" he froze, eyes widening as he figured it out. "It's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins, am I right? I'm right, aren't I?" he asked.<br>"Must be," the Doctor said.  
>"So, a parallel world where-" Rose started.<br>"Oh, come on," Mickey said, cutting her off. "You see it on films. Like an alternative to our world were everything's the same but a little bit different, like... I dunno - traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected..."  
>"And he's still alive," she said.<br>I turned to see what she was talking about. She was gazing at a poster right front of them. It was her father, Pete Tyler - a successful businessman, holding a bottle labeled Vitex.  
>"A parallel world and my dad's still alive," she said.<br>She walked towards the poster. The Doctor, Mickey and I followed.  
>"Don't look at it, Rose. Don't even think about it. This is not your world," the Doctor said sternly.<br>"But he's my dad... and..." She touched the poster and the picture of Pete sprang to life for a moment.  
>"Trust me on this," he said, winking and giving a thumbs up. Rose stepped back.<br>"Oh, that's weird. But he's real!" she said.  
>"Trust me on this," the poster Pete said.<br>"He's a success! He was always planning these daft little schemes, health-food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it," Rose said happily.  
>The Doctor suddenly grasped Rose by the shoulders and bent slightly to look into her eyes.<br>"Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now," he said. Rose glanced back at the poster.  
>"Stop looking at it!" he said.<br>Rose reluctantly met the Doctor's eyes again.  
>"Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is A Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie - his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you," he told her.<br>Rose's eyes started to wander back to the poster, but she stopped herself.  
>"You can't see him. Not ever," the Doctor said.<br>Rose gave a tiny nod. Mickey touched her shoulder comfortingly. The poster of Pete was still saying 'trust me on this' repeatedly.  
>The Doctor and I went back to the Tardis, leaving Rose and Mickey outside.<br>{There's nothing you can do,} I sent. {She's dead.}  
>"Well I've got to try, haven't I?" he replied out loud. "We can't stay here."<br>Mickey entered the Tardis, closing the door behind him. The Doctor rounded on him.  
>"I told you to keep an eye on her!" he said.<br>"She's all right," Mickey said dismissively.  
>"She goes wandering off - parallel world, it's like a gingerbread house! All those temptations calling out," the Doctor said.<br>"Oh, so it's just Rose then? Nothing out there to tempt me?" Mickey said.  
>"Well, I don't know, I can't worry about everything... if I could just get this thing to-" He kicked the Tardis console hard in frustration. He walked slowly over to a chair, scowling. "Did that help?" Mickey asked.<br>"Yes," the Doctor lied.  
>{You're going to break your foot,} I sent.<br>"Did that hurt?" Mickey asked.  
>"Yes. Ow," he said.<br>He sat down and rubbed his foot. "We're not meant to be here. The Tardis draws its power off the universe, but it's the wrong universe. It's like diesel in a petrol engine," he said uneasily.  
>Mickey sat down next to him.<br>"But... I've seen it in comics. People are hopping from one alternative world to another - it's easy," he said.  
>The Doctor gave him a withering look. "Not in the real world," he said. He paused. "Used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind," he said.<br>"Then how did we get here?" Mickey asked.  
>"I dunno. Accident? Should've been impossible - now we're trapped," he said wearily.<br>There was a short, hopeless silence. "What's that?" the Doctor asked, pointingto a tiny green light glowing beneath the console. "What?" Mickey asked.  
>"That there - is that a reflection?" he asked.<br>{No, it isn't,} I sent.  
>We crouched, staring at it. "It's a light! Is it? Is that a light? I think that's a light! That's all we need!" the Doctor said excitedly.<br>He removed the grilling. "We've got power! Mickey, we've got power! Ha!" he yelled.  
>The Doctor jumped down below the console and started pulling out some important looking internals of the Tardis. "It's alive!" he yelled, deliriously happy.<br>"What is it?" Mickey asked.  
>"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging onto life. But with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside," he said.<br>"Enough to get us home?" Mickey asked.  
>"Not yet," he said.<br>He picked up the power cell and sat back on the small set of stairs under the grilling.  
>"I need to charge it up," he said.<br>He held it carefully, cupped in both his hands. "We could go outside and latch it up to the national grid!" Mickey said.  
>"Wrong sort of energy. It's gotta come from our universe," he said.<br>"But we don't have anything," Mickey said.  
>"There's me," he said. I picked up on what he was thinking, too late.<br>"DON'T YOU DARE!" I yelled at him, jumping down into the space beneath the grilling.  
>He blew gently on the power cell and it glowed brightly. The Doctor beamed, and I stared at him, frozen in horror.<br>"You just gave away ten years of your life," I said in disbelief.  
>He giggled dorkishly. "Worth every second of it," he replied. I glowered at him darkly.<br>The Doctor and Mickey both stared at the power cell with huge grins. I crossed my arms over my chest, not happy at all. The light from the cell faded. "It's going out - is that okay?" Mickey asked.  
>"It's on a recharging cycle," the Doctor said.<br>It grew brighter again, and then dimmed, repeating the cycle over and over.  
>"It'll loop round, power back up and be ready to take us home in - oh - twenty-four hours?" the Doctor said.<br>He kissed the power cell.  
>"So, that gives us twenty-four hours on a parallel world?" Mickey asked.<br>"Surely! As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem," he said.  
>He tossed the power cell in the air and caught it again. The Doctor stood, hauling himself out of the floor. "Let's go and tell her," he said.<br>We found Rose sitting on the same bench we'd let her on. "There you are! You all right? No applause, I fixed it!" he said, showing her the power cell. "Twenty-four hours, then we're flying back to reality," he said.  
>"He sat down on the bench and held the power cell up to show her. She didn't even glance at it, lost in her own thoughts. The Doctor's grin faded.<br>"What is it?" he asked.  
>"My phone connected. There's this... Cybus Network, it finds your phone. It gave me Internet access," she said.<br>"Rose, whatever it says, this is the wrong world," he said.  
>"I don't exist," she said.<br>"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.  
>"There's no Rose Tyler. I was never born. There's Pete, my dad, and Jackie... he still married mum... but they never had kids," she said.<br>The Doctor tried to snatch the mobile phone. "Give me that phone," he said.  
>Rose pulled it away from his grasp. "They're rich. They've got a house and cars, and everything they want," she said. She pauses, thinking. "But they haven't got me," she said sounding close to tears. She stood, walking away from bench. Then she turned to face the Doctor. "I've gotta see him," she said.<br>"You can't," the Doctor said.  
>"I just wanna see him," she said.<br>"I can't let you!" he replied.  
>"You just said twenty-four hours!" she shot back angrily.<br>"You can't become their daughter, that's not the way it works! Mickey, tell her," he said, turning to Mickey.  
>Mickey stood. "Twenty-four hours, yeah?" he said.<br>"Where're you going?" the Doctor yelled after him.  
>"Well, I can do what I want!" Mickey said, walking away.<br>Rose started walking backwards in the opposite direction from Mickey. "I've got the address and everything," she said.  
>The Doctor looked from one to the other frantically.<br>"Stay where you are, both of you! Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!" he yelled at them.  
>"I just wanna see him," Rose said.<br>"Yeah, I've got things to see and all," Mickey said.  
>"Like WHAT?" the Doctor yelled at him.<br>"Well, you don't know anything about me, do ya? It's always about Rose. I'm just a spare part," he said.  
>Rose started walking away. "I'm sorry. I've gotta go," she said.<br>The Doctor turned from Rose to Mickey. They were both walking away from him and he couldn't decide which way to turn. Mickey gesturing to Rose. "Go on then. No choice, is there? You can only chase after one of us, and it's never gonna be me, is it?" he asked.  
>Rose stopped walking backwards, turned and left. "Back here in twenty-four hours!" the Doctor yelled at Mickey.<br>He ran after Rose, and I followed him.  
>{You could do something more useful than just follow me around,} he sent me.<br>{Like what?} I asked.  
>{Go follow Mickey. Keep him out of trouble,} he said.<br>{Are you insane? You could get into so much trouble here Doctor. I just watched you give away ten years of your life. I am NOT leaving,} I sent.  
>{I thought as much,} he replied.<br>We walked down the street. "Tell me about Mickey," the Doctor said abruptly to Rose.  
>Rose looked at him. "What do you want to know?" she asked.<br>He shrugged. "Oh, I dunno. Where does he live?" he askd.  
>"In his old Gran's house. She left it to him in the will," Rose said.<br>"What about his parents?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Mickey's mum just couldn't cope with having a kid. His dad hung around for a while, but then he just sort of wandered off. He was brought up by his gran. She smiled. "She was such a great woman. God, she used to slap him!" she said. "And then she died. She tripped and fell down the stairs. It's about five years ago, now. I was still in school," she said.<br>"I never knew," the Doctor said.  
>"Well, you never asked," Rose said.<br>"You never said!" he said.  
>"That's Mickey. I s'pose I- we just... take him for granted. Do you think she's still alive here, his gran?" Rose asked.<br>"Could be. Like I said, parallel world - gingerbread house. We need to get out of here as fast as we can," he replied.  
>A short alarm sounded and everyone around us suddenly froze. We looked around at them, confused.<br>"What're they all doing?" Rose asked.  
>"They've stopped," he said.<br>All of them were wearing earpieces, which were flashing and beeping quietly. The Doctor paused beside one man and squinted at his earpiece. "It's the earpieces... like Bluetooth attachments, but everyone's connected together," he said.  
>Rose's phone beeped. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it. "It's on my phone. It's automatic, look. It's downloading. Is this what they're all getting?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor peered over her shoulder and put his specs on. Rose scrolled through the 'daily downloads'.  
>"News... international news... sport... weather," Rose said, reading of a list on her phone.<br>"They get it direct. Downloaded right into their heads," the Doctor said.  
>"TV schedules, lottery numbers," Rose continued.<br>"Everyone shares the same information," he said.  
>He took the phone from Rose and read it.<br>"Daily download published by Cybus Industries," he read.  
>The download scrolled to 'Joke'. Everyone around us chuckled, and then unfroze, going on their way. The Doctor and Rose stared, completely nonplussed as the crowd carried on as though nothing had happened.<br>"You lot, you're obsessed. You'd do anything for the latest upgrade," the Doctor said.  
>"Oi... not my lot. Different world, remember," Rose said.<br>"It's not SO far off your world. This place is only parallel," he said.  
>He pressed a few buttons on the phone.<br>He showed Rose. "Oh, look at that. Cybus Industries owns just about every company in Britain, including Vitex. Mr Pete Tyler's VERY well connected," he said.  
>Rose did not reply, but hung off his arm smiling innocently and making the puppy-dog-eyes until the Doctor sighed.<br>"Oh, okay. I give up," he said, tossing her phone back to her. "Let's go and see him," he said.

We were hiding in the bushes outside of the Tyler mansion. My Shadow Device was on.  
>A car pulled up outside Pete's and Jackie's house. "They've got visitors," the Doctor said.<br>"February the first - mum's birthday. Even in a parallel universe, she still loves a party," Rose said.  
>"Well, given Pete Tyler's guest list, I wouldn't mind a look. And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside," he said, waving the psychic paper around. "Psychic paper!" Rose said excitedly.<br>"Who do you wanna be?" he asked.

In the end, the Doctor ended up posing as a waitor, and Rose as a waitress. I was just unnoticed.  
>"We could've been anyone," Rose said to the Doctor under her breath.<br>"Got us in, didn't it?" he said.  
>"You're in charge of the psychic paper. We could've been guests. Celebrities. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose. We end up serving. I had enough of this back home," Rose said.<br>They both smiled politely as people took champagne and cocktail sticks from their trays.  
>"If you wanna know what's going on, work in the kitchens," he said.<br>We retreated slightly to the side of the room so we could watch the proceedings - groups of important people chatting and laughing, photographs being taken. The Doctor nodded towards a man. "According to Lucy, that man over there-"  
>"Who's Lucy?" Rose as, cutting him off.<br>"She's carrying the salmon pinwheels," he said, nodding over to a young waitress at the other side of the room.  
>"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?" Rose asked.<br>"Yeah! Lucy says, that is the President of Great Britain," he said.  
>"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?" Rose asked.<br>"Seems so," the Doctor said.  
>"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick," she said.<br>They moved on their way with the trays. "Excuse me!" Pete said from the staricase, addressing the whole room. "Thank you very much. Thank you - if I could just have your attention, please?"  
>"Pete! Go on, Pete!" someone yelled from in the crowd.<br>"Thank you very much!" Pete said.  
>"It's about time you did some work. I thought you liked them young!" the voice said.<br>"Um, I'd just like to say, er, thank you to you all, for coming on this er, this very special occasion," Pete said.  
>Rose gazed up at him.<br>"My wife's... thirty-ninth," he said.  
>The crowd chortled.<br>"Trust me on this," he said.  
>The crowd laughed appreciatively. "So, without any further ado - here she is. The birthday girl... my lovely wife... Jackie Tyler," he said.<br>Rose strained for a look. The Doctor glanced at her. Jackie descended the staircase, smiling at the crowd who applauded and cheered and snapped photos. Rose stared at her. Jackie stood next to Pete.  
>"Now, I'm not giving a speech - that's what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black-market whisky," she said.<br>The crowd laughed again.  
>"Pardon me, Mr President!So yeah! Get on with it - enjoy, enjoy," she said.<br>The crowd cheered again. Pete took Jackie's hand and they descended the rest of the stairs to mingle with the crowd.  
>"You can't stay. Even if there was some way of telling them," he said.<br>"Course I can't. I've still got my mum at home, my real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I. It's just... they've got each other. Mum's got no one," Rose said.  
>"She's got you! Those two haven't!" the Doctor said.<br>"All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right," Rose said.  
>"Rose!" Jackie called.<br>There was a series of barking and yelps. "There's my little girl!" Jackie said.  
>The dog pottered over to Jackie, who picked her up.<br>"Come to mummy, come to mummy! Yes, good girl! Good girl, aren't you?" Jackie said.  
>The expression on Rose's face was priceless. The Doctor took one look at her and burst out laughing. He sobered at the look she gave him though.<br>The Doctor detached himself from the crowds and walked down a corridor, and I followed in his wake.  
>He almost walked past a dark, empty room with the door slightly ajar, but backtracked as he noticed a laptop open on the desk inside. He looked warily behind him to check that the coast was clear, then snuck quietly into the room, shutting the door behind him.<br>{Watch the hall Shadow,} he sent. {Give me a bit of warning if you see anyone coming.}  
>{Yes Doctor,} I replied.<br>After a few minutes, the door opened behind me, and he ran out of the room.  
>{What is it? What did you find?} I sent.<br>{We are in big, big trouble,} he sent back.  
>{What kind of trouble?} I asked impatiently.<br>{Not now Shadow!} he sent back. The Doctor winded his way through the crowds and spotted Rose. We went to the window and looked outside. There were figures, walking through the fog outside.  
>"It's happening again," he said.<br>"What do you mean?" Rose asked.  
>"I've seem them before," he said.<br>"What are they?" I demanded.  
>"Cybermen," he replied.<br>Several of them smashed steel fists through the windows in order to gain entry to the house. The guests screamed. They cowered as the Cybermen stepped through the full length windows. They herded the people in the room, so they were circled with no way out. I was tried to grab onto the Doctor's hand to teleport, but he pulled away.  
>{Not yet,} he said.<br>{We're going if this gets even the tiniest bit worse,} I sent.  
>The president's communication device bleeped. "Mr Lumic," the president said distastfully.<br>"Mr President. I suppose a remark about crashing the party would be appropriate at this point," came a voice from the comm device, which I assumed belonged to Mr. Lumic. Lumic laughed evilly.  
>"I forbade this," the president said.<br>"These are my children, sir. Would you deny my family?" Lumic said.  
>"What are they? Robots?" Rose asked the Doctor.<br>"Worse than that," he replied.  
>"Who were these people?" the president asked.<br>"Doesn't matter," Lumic said.  
>"They're people?" Rose asked.<br>"They were. Until they had all their humanity taken away. It's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart of steel. Shadow has more emotion than they do."  
>"Why no emotions?" Rose asked.<br>"Because it hurts," the Doctor said.  
>"I demand to know, Lumic - these people - who were they?" the president asked.<br>"They were homeless, wretched and useless until I saved them. And elevated them. And gave them life-eternal. And now, I leave you in their capable hands. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, Mr President," Lumic said, hanging up. One of the Cybermen squared itself in front of the crowd.  
>"We have been upgraded," it said.<br>"Into what?" the Doctor asked.  
>"The next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us," it said.<br>"I'm sorry," the president said, approaching the cyberman. "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you." He turned, walking around. "But listen to me - this experiment ends. Tonight," he said.  
>"Upgrading is compulsory," the cyberman said.<br>"And if I refuse?" the president asked.  
>"Don't," the Doctor said quickly.<br>Rose glanced at him. "What if I refuse?" the president asked.  
>The Doctor stepped forward.<br>"I'm telling you, don't," he warned.  
>The president ignored him.<br>"What happens if I refuse?" the president asked.  
>"Then you are not compatible," the cyberman said.<br>"What happens then?" the president asked challengingly.  
>"You will be deleted," the cyberman said.<br>He grasped the President by the neck. The president was engulfed by electric-blue light as he died. The crowd screamed and started to run. The room was chaos. I grabbed the Doctor's hand, who grabbed onto Rose, and teleported us outside.  
>"There's nothing we can do!" he said to Rose.<br>Rose pulled away from him and tried to go back inside. "My mum's in there!" Rose yelled.  
>The Doctor pulled her away.<br>"She's not your mother! Come on!" he yelled.  
>We ran up a slope, only to be greeted by another row of Cybermen. We changed direction and ran around the side of the house. Pete leapt out of the window.<br>"Quick! Quick!" Rose called to him.  
>Pete ran after us. We reached the front of the house.<br>The Doctor looked around.  
>"Pete, there's no way out!" he said.<br>"The side gates!" Pete yelled. We ran in the direction he indicated.  
>"Who are you? How do you know so much?" Pete asked the Doctor.<br>"You wouldn't believe it in a million years-"  
>We skid to a halt as we were met by another row of Cybermen and were forced to change direction again. Two figures ran towards us, holding guns.<br>"Who's that?" Rose asked.  
>It was Mickey. "Get behind me!" he yelled.<br>We stood behind Mickey and the other person as they fire their guns at the onslaught of Cybermen. The Cybermen stopped marching. Rose fussed with Mickey's coat.  
>"Oh my God, look at you," she said.<br>She pulled him into a tight hug.  
>"I thought I'd never see you again!" she said.<br>Mickey pulled away from her.  
>"Yeah, no offence, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?" he asked.<br>Another Mickey sprinted down the lawn towards us.  
>"Rose!" he stopped when he reached us. "That's not me. That's like... the other one," he said.<br>Rose stares at him, and then at the other one.  
>"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough - there's two Mickey's!" the Doctor complained.<br>"It's Rickey," the first one said.  
>"But there's more of them," Mickey said, pointing at the cybermen.<br>The company looked around them in fear as we were surrounded by Cybermen.  
>"We're surrounded," Rose said, stating the obvious.<br>Ricky raised his gun.  
>"Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them," the Doctor said.<br>The one who was neither Mickey nor Rickey ignored him, and fired a rally. The Doctor pushed his gun aside angrily.  
>"No! Stop shooting, now!" he yelled.<br>The Doctor straightened, addressing the surrounding Cybermen.  
>"We surrender! Hands up," We all put our hands up, including him. "There's no need to damage us, we're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed," he said.<br>"You are rogue elements," the lead cyberman said.  
>"But we surrender," the Doctor said.<br>"Take my hand," I whispered to Rose. She looked at me, and then took my hand, reaching for Mickey's hand.  
>"You are incompatible," the cyberman said.<br>"But this is a surrender!" the Doctor said. Everyone was holding the other's hand now. I edged closer to the Doctor, getting ready to grab him with my free hand.  
>"You will be deleted," the cyberman said. I was too far away. I looked at Rose, and she understood, edging forward, pulling the rest along with.<br>"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!" the Doctor shouted frantically.  
>"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish under maximum deletion," it said.<br>{Doctor, grab onto me,} I sent.  
>He turned, grabbing my hand as the cyberman reached for him. I teleported.<p> 


	9. The Idiot's Lantern

We were outside the Tardis.  
>"What just happened?" Rickey asked.<br>"Shadow teleported us," I heard Rose say.  
>I stumbled, and the Doctor caught me before I could hit my head on the pavement.<br>I pointed at him weakly. "Stay. Out. Of trouble," I said. I closed my eyes.

"What happened to her?" Rose asked. "Is she dead?"  
>"Not dead, just tired. She just teleported herself and five others 25 some odd miles to the east. She needs to rest, and recharge," the Doctor explained, picking her up.<br>"I don't understand, I thought she wasn't a robot," Rose said, opening the Tardis door for him. She followed him to Shadow's quarters, and he put her down on the bed.  
>He straightened, walking out and closing the door behind them.<br>"She isn't a robot no. She's more of a cyborg actually, technology and flesh combined to create the perfect life form. She can blend in on almost any planet, she eats food like a normal creature, but she has a teleport, and perception filter built into her, and like a robot, she has to follow her orders."  
>"So she shuts down to... recharge when she uses to much energy?" Rose asked.<br>"She just goes to sleep," he said. "Like any other form of life. Resting, and getting better."

Two days Later

I opened my eyes, and heard, a rumbling noise. I frowned, and got up, stumbling a bit as the blood started circulating properly in my legs again. I walked out of the Tardis, and saw that my surroundings were drasticaly changed. I decided I had slept a bit too long. I looked down the street, to see the Doctor and Rose riding away on an odd contraption, a kind of mechanical bike.  
>I tried to tap our link, and collapsed, suddenly very dizzy. Something was blocking the link, something powerful. I didn't know what it was, but I couldn't reach the Doctor that way. I looked up, and saw the Doctor and Rose turn a corner. I stood, and ran after them.<p>

A red London bus drove past the end of the street, the Doctor stopped. The Doctor looked bemused, Rose laughed it off.  
>"Digging that New York vibe!" Rose said.<br>"Well... this COULD still be New York, I mean this looks very New York to me... sort of... Londony New York, mind," the Doctor said.  
>"DOCTOR!" someone yelled from behind them. They turned, seeing Shadow, running after them.<br>"Oh, it lives!" Rose cried as she caught up with them. Shadow bent over, gasping for breath. She pointed at the Doctor accusingly. "Where... Where were you- where were you going?" she gasped out.  
>"We were going to see Elvis, but he took us to London," Rose said. She looked down at my feet. "You're barefoot," she commented.<br>"That's your fault," she said, pointing at the Doctor accusingly. "You were going off lord knows where, without me!"  
>"You were sleeping," he protested.<br>"Then you should have waited," Shadow said.  
>"Why didn't you just call him with that link you two have?" Rose asked.<br>"I tried," Shadow said. She looked at the Doctor. "There's something blocking it," she said.  
>"Woah," the Doctor said, swaying. Rose steadied him. He shook his head. "Yeah, you're right. Something's blocking it, something powerful."<br>A van rode up, and parked itself on the side of the road. Two errand boys took out a television and carried it into a house. The house owner looked on.  
>"There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion," a man said to the recipient of the TV.<br>The Doctor got off the bike thing, and walked over to the van.  
>"The great occasion? What d'you mean?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course," the man said.  
>"What Coronation's that, then?" the Doctor asked.<br>"What d'you mean? THE Coronation," the man asked.  
>The Doctor looked blank, turning to Rose for help.<br>"The Queen's," Rose said as if it were obvious. "Queen Elizabeth!"  
>"Oh! Oh, is this 1953?" he asked the man.<br>"Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best," the man said.  
>"Look at all the TV aerials... looks like everyone's got one. That's weird, my nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house," Rose said.<br>"Not round here, love. Magpie's Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a box," the man said.  
>The Doctor wandered a short way round the street, thinking. He suddenly cut in, all smiles and energy.<br>"Oh but this is a BRILLIANT year! Classic! Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration-  
>The Nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!" he said.<br>Rose laughed, and we heard a woman scream.  
>"Someone help me, please! Ted!" she yelled.<br>A man with a blanket over his head was being bundled into a black police car by two suited men. The Doctor and Rose ran over.  
>"Leave him alone, it's my husband!" the woman said.<br>"What's going on?" the Doctor asked.  
>The blanketed man was pushed into the back seat.<br>A boy came out of one of the other houses. "Oi, what are you doing?" a boy asked.  
>One of the suited men addressed the Doctor.<br>"Police business, now get out of the way, sir!" he said.  
>"Who did they take, do you know him?" Rose asked the boy.<br>"Must be Mr Gallagher," the boy said.  
>The car drove off, leaving Mrs Gallagher in despair.<br>"It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters," the boy said.  
>A man stormed out of the boy's house.<br>"Tommy! Not one word!" he shouted at the boy.  
>Rose and the Doctor looked at the man.<br>"Get inside now!" he yelled.  
>"Sorry, I'd better do as he says," the boy said, running back into his house.<br>Mrs Gallagher was still sobbing, but the Doctor ran over to the bike-thing and kicked it into life.  
>"All aboard!" he yelled. Rose hopped on back.<br>"Hey, wait!" I yelled, running after them.  
>I fell behind, and they turned a corner. I ran as fast as I could, and ground to a halt behind them.<br>"Lost 'em! How'd they get away from us?" the Doctor said, staring at a dead end. There were some men sweeping the road, but no car.  
>"You've got to stop doing that," I said breathlessly.<br>"Surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving, have you actually PASSED your test?" Rose said, ignoring me. And I didn't have my Shadow Device on either.  
>"Men in black?" the Doctor said, ignoring Rose. "Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia!" "Monsters, that boy said," Rose said thoughtfully.<br>The Doctor turned to her.  
>"Maybe we should go and ask the neighbours," Rose said.<br>"That's what I like about you. The domestic approach," he said.  
>"Hold on a minute, now just STOP!" I said. They both looked at me. That was better.<br>"Nobody's approaching anything, domestically, or otherwise, until I catch up." I looked at Rose. "First things, did he stay out of trouble?" I asked.  
>"Well..." she said, sounding uncertain. "Yeah, for the most part, I think he did," she said.<br>"Alright, good. 2: Where's Mickey?" I asked.  
>"He stayed in the alternate universe to fight the cybermen," Rose said.<br>"That is of no consequence. 3rd issue. This method of travel," I said, indicating the bike-thing. "Is no good. You keep leaving me behind."  
>Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, and grinned.<br>"Well, you run fast, catch us," Rose said. The drove away.  
>"YOU'RE LUCKY I HAVE TO PROTECT YOU, OR YOU'D BE DEAD RIGHT NOW!" I yelld at the Doctor's back. Then I stopped. I felt..different. I didn't know what it was, so i just stood there for a few minutes, trying to work it out. Then I realized something. I was angry. At the Doctor. That was not right. Anger was one of the emotions I was programmed to feel, but only a enemies of the Doctor. Why was I angry at the Doctor? And then I remembered. There was something, a feeling, nagging at me, in the back of my mind. Like there was something really important, something that I should know that I didn't. And then it was gone. I shook my head, thinking that I'd slept to long. I ran after the Doctor and Rose.<p>

I ran down the street, not seeing any sign of them. And then I spotted their bike-thing, parked on the side of the street. I narowed it down to only the houses on this street. I trid the one they'd parked directly in front of first.  
>"Doctor!" I yelled. A very startled little girl looked back at me. "Have you seen a man called the Doctor?" I asked.<br>She shook her head. I sighed, and closed the door, going to the house next to this one. It was empty. I went to the house on the other side of the first house. There was the Mrs. Gallagher, crying on the couch. But no Doctor, so I left that house too. I checked all the houses on that side of the street. Then I started on the other side. As I walked out of the third house on the right side, I saw a black police car arrived outside the house. Two men came out, and walked into the house. I walked into the next house. This one was empty too. I walked back out, and saw the men, hurrying out of the house with a blanketed figure.  
>"Back inside, Rita!" someone yelled.<br>"She's my mother!" a woman yelled.  
>"Back inside now, I said!" he yelled.<br>the car drove off,and the Doctor ran out of the house.  
>"Doctor" I yelled, running down the street The Doctor ran to the bike-thing.<br>"Rose, come on!" he yelled.  
>"Get back inside!" the man was yelling at the woman.<br>"But Dad, they took her!" the boy said. It was the same boy we had spoken with in the street earlier.  
>"Go back inside, don't fight it," the man said.<br>"Rose, come on," the Doctor said again as he fastened his helmet. "Rose, we're gonna lose them again!" he yelled.  
>"Dad, they took her! That was Gran and they took her!" the boy cried.<br>"Come on, back inside now," the man said, still not letting the boy out.  
>I reached the Doctor, and climbed on the back of the bike-thing. "She isn't coming Doctor, go!" I yelled. He started the thing up, and we shot off after the car.<br>The black police car swerved around a bend, and out of our sight. We turned the corner to, only to see that the car has disappeared in what appeared to be a dead end. There were the same two workmen, apparently clearing away some rubbish from the stall and sweeping the street. The Doctor stopped swiftly.  
>"Oh, very good! Very good!" he said to the men appreciatively.<br>He got off the bike-thing, parking it on the side of the road, and walked around the building, looking for a way in. He found finds a small gate at the side, and broke in with the sonic screwdriver. We walked in, and saw two policemen locking up some cage-like gates. We waited until they were gone, and then walked over ot the cage. It contained several dozen people. He opened those gates too with the sonic screwdriver, and started to walk in. I put a hand on his arm. He looked at me, and nodded, understanding. He walked into the cage, with me holding onto his hand, ready to teleport if need be. None of the people in the enclosure had faces. They clenched and unclenched their fists in a creepy, almost mechanical manner, and shuffled towards the Doctor. Suddenly, a bright light flared on, and I activated my Shadow Device, keeping a hold on the Doctor's hand. The Doctor turned around and squinted, seeing the two policemen who had locked up the cages earlier, standing in front of the headlamps of their car.  
>"Stay where you are!" one of them said. He let go of my hand, to put both of his up in the air. They hauled him out of the cage rudely, and walked him into a small room off to the side.<br>They sat him down in a chair across from a desk, and I stood behind him, ready to grab him and teleport out. But he was in no immediate danger that I could see, so I just stood behind him, waiting.  
>The man who had spoken outside stood over the Doctor imposingly. "Start from the beginning, tell me everything you know," the man said.<br>"Well... for starters... I know you can't wrap your hand around your elbow and make your fingers meet," the Doctor said seriously.  
>The man pointed at him. "Don't get clever with me. You were there today at Florizel Street, and now breaking into this establishment. Now, you're connected with this. Make no mistake-" he started. The Doctor interupted him.<br>"Well, the thing IS, Detective Inspector Bishop-" the Doctor began.  
>"How do you know my name?" Bishop asked, interupting the Doctor.<br>"It's... written inside your collar," the Doctor said.  
>Bishop looked slightly embarrassed and adjusted his collar.<br>"Bless your mum. But, I can't help thinking, Detective Inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting. Are you?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I'm doing everything in my power," Bishop said.<br>"All you're doing is grabbing those faceless people and hiding them as fast as you can. Don't tell me - orders from above, hmm? Coronation Day... the eyes of the world are on London Town... so any sort of problem just gets swept out of sight," th Doctor said.  
>The Doctor started spinning from side to side in the chair, completely relaxed. Bishop looked slightly irritated.<br>"The nation has an image to maintain," Bishop said.  
>"Doesn't it drive you mad? Doing nothing? Don't you wanna get out there and investigate?" the Doctor asked him incredulously.<br>"Course I do. But-" he cut off, and sat down, looking exhausted.  
>"With all the crowds expected, we haven't got the man-power. Even if we did... this is... beyond anything we've ever seen," he said helplessly. "I just don't know anymore. Twenty years on the force... I don't even know where to start. We haven't the faintest clue what's going on," he said.<br>The Doctor leaned forward, listening intently.  
>"Well... that could change," the Doctor said.<br>"How?" Bishop asked.  
>The Doctor stood, looking down at D.I. Bishop, and it occured to me that he had effectively reversed their roles.<br>"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know," the Doctor said, and I snickered. Then I stopped. I thought it was FUNNY. I never thought things were funny. What was going on?  
>Suddenly, there was light. Everything around me changed. I wasn't in the warehouse anymore. I was in a garden. I saw a little girl, running, and yelling happily. There was a man running after her, but she wasn't afraid. She looked so happy. She laughed as he chased her in circles around a fountain. "Gottcha!" he yelled as he snatched her up, swinging her in the air. She shrieked with glee. Then I was back in the warehouse. The Doctor and Bishop were standing by a large map on a stand.<br>I looked around in confusion, and felt something wet on my cheek. I brushed my cheek, and my hand came away wet. I was crying. I sat down heavily in the chair that the Doctor had been sitting in. I never cried. why was I crying?  
>"We started finding them about a month ago. Persons left sans visage. Heads just... blank," Bishop was saying.<br>"Is there any sort of pattern?" the Doctor asked.  
>He examined a file he picked up off the desk.<br>"Yes, spreading out from North London. All over the City. Men, women, kids... grannies... the only REAL lead is there's been quite a large number in-"  
>"Florizel Street," the Doctor finished.<br>There was a knock at the door. The Doctor and Bishop looked up.  
>"Found another one, sir," I looked up, and saw tha the figure was wearing a pink skirt and matching pink shoes.<br>"Oh, er - good man, Crabtree. Here we are, Doctor," Bishop said.  
>The Doctor drops the files on the table and walks slowly towards teh figure that I already knew was Rose.<br>"Take a good look. See what you can deduce," Bishop said.  
>The policeman took the blanket off Rose's head. The Doctor's eyes widened in horror as he approached her. I got up, moving to his side. I would think about the girl in the garden later.<br>"Rose," the Doctor said.  
>"Do you know her?" Bishop asked.<br>"Know her? She..." he didn't finish. He walked right up close to her, staring down at her featureless face.  
>"They found her in the street, apparently, over at Master Square, abandoned," Crabtree told Bishop.<br>"That's unusual, that's the first one out in the open. Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day, we'll have Torchwood on our back, make no mistake," Bishop said.  
>The Doctor was gazing down at Rose.<br>"They did what?" he asked Bishop coldly.  
>"I'm sorry?" Bishop asked.<br>"They left her where?" he said.  
>"Just... in the street," Bishop said.<br>"In the street," he said quietly. "They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. And as a result, that makes things... simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?" he said.  
>He finally tore his gaze away from Rose's face, and took his glasses off, turning to the two men.<br>"No," Bishop said.  
>"Because NOW, Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this Earth that can stop me. Come on!" he shouted.<br>And without a moments hesitation, he made for the door.  
>The Doctor, Bishop and I burst out of the gates into the dawn sunlight.<br>"The big day dawns," Bishop said.  
>The Doctor didn't reply. He moved on immediately, walking briskly down the streets, seeming to know exactly where he was going. He walked up to a house, the same house he'd been in with Rose last night when I'd been looking for him.<br>He knocked on the door, and it was answered a moment later by the boy.  
>"Tommy, talk to me," the Doctor said.<br>Tommy stepped outside the door, closing it behind him. "I need to know exactly what happened inside your house," the Doctor said.  
>Tommy's father pulled the door open violently and rounded on Tommy. "What the blazes do you think you're doing?" he asked Tommy.<br>"I wanna help, dad," Tommy said.  
>"Mr Connolly," the Doctor said warningly.<br>"Shut your face, you. Whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves," he said, turning back to Tommy. "Listen you, little twerp. You're hardly out of the bloomin' cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here respect me. It MATTERS what people THINK," he said.  
>"Is that why you did it, dad?" Tommy said.<br>His father looked taken aback. "What d'you mean? Did what?" he asked.  
>"You ratted on gran. How else would the police know where to look? Unless some coward told them," Tommy said.<br>"How DARE you? You think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?" he raged.  
>"You don't get it, do you?" Tommy said. "You fought AGAINST fascism, remember? People telling you how to live - who you could be friends with - who you could fall in love with - who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could DO what we want. SAY what we want. Now you've become just like them. You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even gran. All to protect your precious reputation."<br>"Eddie... is that true?" Tommy's mother said, coming out from the hall.  
>"I did it for US, Rita! She was FILTHY. A filthy, disgusting THING," Eddie said.<br>Rita looked shocked. "She's my mother. All the others - you informed on all the people in our street - our friends," Rita said quietly.  
>"I had to," Eddie said, flailing slightly. "I did the right thing-"<br>"The right thing for us... or for you, Eddie?" Rita asked him.  
>Eddie stared at her. Rita turned to Tommy. "You go, Tommy. You go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house. It's poison. We had a ruddy monster under this roof, all right, but it weren't my mother!" Rita said, looking close to tears. She went back inside, slamming the door in Eddie's face.<br>"Tommy?" the Doctor asked.  
>Tommy, the Doctor, Bishop and I walked away down the street, leaving Eddie alone, locked outside his house.<br>The streets were busy with people preparing for a street party. We walked past it all.  
>"Tommy, tell me about that night. The night she changed," the Doctor said.<br>"She was just watching the telly," Tommy said.  
>The Doctor looked up at the TV aerials. "Rose said it. She guessed it straight away, of COURSE she did. All these aerials in one little street - how come?" he asked.<br>"Bloke up the road, Mr Magpie, he's selling them cheap," Tommy said.  
>Without even waiting for Tommy to finish his sentence, the Doctor was off, running down the road. I followed.<br>"Come on!" he yelled back at Bishop and Tommy.  
>The Doctor slowed as he approached Magpie's shop. I expected him ot use the sonic screwdriver to open it, but he smashed the glass in the door instead.<br>"Here, you can't do that-" Bishop protested, but the Doctor was already in teh shop, striding to the counter.  
>"Shop?" the Doctor yelled. He pressed the bell on the counter repeatedly, shouting to the back of the shop.<br>"If you're here, come out and talk to me! MAGPIE?" he yelled.  
>"Maybe he's out," Tommy said.<br>"Looks like it," the Doctor said.  
>I gasped, as I saw light again. I saw the same girl as I had before, but this time the girl was sitting on a bench, crying. And we weren't in a garden. I would have guessed we were on a spaceship. I walked up to her.<br>"Who are you?" I asked.  
>She didn't respond, just kept crying.<br>"Tei," came a voice. I looked up to see a woman, walking towards us. She sat down in the bench next to the child.  
>"Are you still crying?" the woman asked.<br>"I didn't want to come," Tei said.  
>"But you should be happy," the woman said. "Hardly anyone gets this honor."<br>"I don't care, I want to go home!" Tei said. She buried her face in her hands.  
>The woman put her arm around Tei's shoulders.<br>"There, don't cry. I'll show you something. Come on," she said, standing and holding her hand out to Tei.  
>Tei just looked at it for a minute, and then got up, taking the woman's hand.<br>They walked away down the halls, and I followed. The woman took Tei to a computer. I couldn't see what was on it. She pressed a few buttons. "Do you know who that is?" she asked.  
>Tei nodded. "He's a very lonely man," she said. The woman nodded.<br>"That's right Tei. You're going to be assigned to him," the woman said.  
>I walked closer. "How does that help?" Tei asked.<br>The woman just looked at her. "He is a very important man," she said. "He saves others. The problem is, that there will come a time when he won't be able to save himself. He'll die, and nothing will be safe again. You are going to protect this man Tei. You're going to save his life, and by doing so, you will be giving your life purpose. There is no higher honor for a Galva Neertan," she said. I walked behind the computer bank, and looked at the screen. I already knew what would be there. I looked anyway. It was the Doctor. My Doctor, the one I was traveling with.  
>I stared at Tei. She had seemed so familiar. And now I knew why. She was me. Me, as a child. But I had had no childhood. I was grown, not born.<br>I was back in the shop now. I gasped, my hand shooting out to catch myself on the wall before I could fall. That could not have been me. I had no childhood. I was an Artificially Grown Life Form. There was some other explanation for this.  
>"I want my friend restored and I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician so tell me, who's really in charge here?" I heard the Doctor say. I pulled myself out of my thoughts, focusing on the scene before me.<br>The Doctor was glaring at a man who I assumed was Magpie. On the television screens, were faces. I saw Rose among them. She was mouthing the word Doctor, over and over.  
>"Yoohoo! I think that must be me," said a voice. It was coming out of a television. A woman had appeared on one of the screens. The Doctor turned to her, surprised.<br>"Ooh, this one's smart as paint," the Woman commented.  
>The Doctor approaches the television with the woman on it.<br>"Is she talking to us?" Bishop asked.  
>"Sorry gentlemen, I'm... I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new... friend." Magpie said.<br>"Jolly nice to meet you," the woman said cheerfully.  
>"Oh my God, it's her, that woman off the telly, Bishop said.<br>"No, it's just using her image," the Doctor said.  
>"What... what are you?" Tommy asked the woman.<br>"I'm the Wire, and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow-kind denied me," the wire said.  
>The screen gradually colourized. "Good Lord - colour television!" Bishop exclaimed.<br>"So your own people tried to stop you?" the Doctor said.  
>"They executed me. But I escaped - in this form - and fled across the stars," the Wire said.<br>"And now you're trapped in the television," the Doctor said.  
>The smirk faded from the Wire's face, and with it, the colour from the television. "Not for much longer," she said.<br>"Is this what got my gran?" Tommy asked.  
>"Yes, Tommy. It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig. Taking people's faces, their essences, it stuffs itself," the Doctor said.<br>"And you let her do it, Magpie," Bishop said.  
>"I had to! She allowed me my face! She's promised to release me at the time of manifestation," Magpie said.<br>"What does that mean?" Tommy asked.  
>"The appointed time - my crowning glory," the Wire said.<br>"Doctor - the coronation!" Bishop said.  
>"For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set," he said. He approached her, gloating. "But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this!" he said, picking up a box thing. "You need something more powerful! This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."<br>"What a clever thing you are! But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me - you'll be glued to the screen," she said.  
>Lines of red sparking light suddenly pull all three faces into the Wire's TV - the Doctor, Tommy and the Inspector.<br>"Doctor!" I yelled.  
>"Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah! This one is tasty. Oh! I'll have lashings of him! Delicious! Ah!" the Wire said.<br>I jumped in front of the Wire's connection with my Doctor, hoping this would do something. It did. I saw her. In her actual form, not the woman I saw on the screen. She was just energy. I heard the Wire yelling something, it made no sense to me.  
>"Armed! He's armed and clever! Withdraw! Withdraw!" she yelled. She severed the connection, and I feel to the floor, unconcious.<p>

The Doctor put the screwfriver away, feeling Shadow's pulse, and then Tommy's and then Bishop's, noticing that Bishop had lost his face. They would all be fine, he hoped. He didn't see Magpie behind him, or the crowbar Magpie was holding. Magpie swung the crowbar down, and the Doctor fell, unconcious.  
>"The box, Magpie! The box!" the Wire said.<br>Magpie ran and got the box. He held it up to the Wire.  
>"Hold tight," she said.<br>The Wire jumps via red light into the portable television.  
>"Conduct me to my victory, Magpie," she said.<br>Magpie left his shop, running outside and into his van.

I woke up. My head was pounding. I was relatively sure that the Wire was what was blocking my link with the Doctor.  
>I got up, looking around. The Doctor was on the ground a few feet away, unconcious.<br>"Doctor?" I asked, shaking him. I didn't get a response.  
>I turned him over on his back, slapping his face lightly. "Doctor, wake up," I said urgently. He didn't respond. I shook him more violently, yelling right in his ear.<br>"DOCTOR, "WAKE UP!" I yelled. He still didn't wake up. I closed ny eyes, tapping our link. I got really dizzy immediately, but I didn't draw out. I pressed forward, feeling sick in my stomach. I pushed, trying to open the link. I got it open, and poked him mentally, hard.  
>{WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!} I screamed into our link. He sat up, looking around in alarm. He looked at me.<br>"You got through the link?" he asked.  
>I felt sick. Really sick. "Yeah," I said, standing. I swayed, almost falling over. I looked at him.<br>"The Wire woman, you need to get her," I said.  
>He looked at me oddly. "Since when do you care about anything except my safety?" he asked.<br>"I remember now," I whispered. I fell over, and he caught me.  
>"What do you remember?" he said.<br>I closed my eyes. "I'm going to forget again. The chip won't let me remember. Don't let me forget Doctor, I said.  
>"What did you remember?" he asked.<br>I leaned forward, whispering in his ear. Then I closed my eyes. I would wake again when the chip had done it's job. When I woke, I would have forgotten myself again. I would not remember who I was. But he would help me. He would help me remember.


	10. The Impossible Planet

"We're just gonna go off without her?" Rose asked.  
>"Yep," the Doctor replied.<br>"We're just gonna leave her here?" Rose asked.  
>"That's the plan," he replied.<br>"Won't she be really angry if she wakes up and finds us gone?" she asked.  
>"It would be dangerous to try to wake her up. She used a lot of energy to avoid being pulled in by the wire, and then to open our link. And I mean a lot. She needs to recharge," he said. "And that chip in her head, what ever it is, is wiping half her memory away."<br>"I still don't really understand that," Rose said.  
>"Do you need to?" He asked.<br>"No, I guess not," she replied.  
>"Well then, where to?" he asked.<br>"I don't know, somewhere unexpected," she said.  
>He grinned. "Unexpected it is."<br>He pressed a few buttons, pulled some levers, slapped the console. In response, the ship lurched, and Rose hung onto the side railing. She heard the siren blaring as the Tardis rematerialized wherever they were. The landing was not smooth though. The Taidis groaned and wheezed as if finding it difficult. The Doctor and Rose stepped outside the doors, looking up at the Tardis.  
>"I dunno what's wrong with her, she's sort of... queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't wanna land," the Doctor said.<br>"Oh, if you think there's gonna be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else," Rose said.  
>They both burst out laughing at this absurd notion. The Doctor looked around.<br>"I think... we've landed inside a cupboard! Here we go!" he said. He pushed the door open they walked out of the closet. "Open Door 15," a computerized voice said.  
>"Some sort of base... moon base, sea base, space base... they build these things out of kits," the Doctor said.<br>"Glad we're indoors - sounds like a storm out there," Rose said.  
>The Doctor opened another door. "Open Door 16," the computer said.<br>Rose followed the Doctor through the door into a corridor.  
>"Human design - you've got a thing about kits. This place was put together like a flat-pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier," the Doctor said.<br>They went through another door, entering a canteen area.  
>"Open Door 17," the computer said.<br>The Doctor strode into the middle of the room.  
>"Oh, it's a sanctuary base!" he said.<br>Rose closed the door. "Close Door 17," the computer said.  
>"Deep Space exploration. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath," he sid, pointing downwards, indicating for Rose to listen. They heard the hum of drills.<br>"Someone's drilling," the Doctor said.  
>"Welcome to hell," Rose said.<br>"Oh, it's not THAT bad!" the Doctor said.  
>Rose laughed, pointing to the wall. "No, over there!" she said.<br>The words "WELCOME TO HELL" were scrawled on the wall, with ancient symbols written underneath. The Doctor stared.  
>"Hold on..." he went over to it. "What does that say?" he asked.<br>The Doctor peered closely at the ancient text, but it remained stubbornly incomprehensible. "That's weird. It won't translate," the Doctor said.  
>"But I thought the TARDIS translated everything, writing as well. We should see English," Rose said.<br>"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means... this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old," he said.  
>The Doctor stood and went over to another door.<br>"We should find out who's in charge," he said, turning the wheel to open the door. "We've gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's lucky enough-"  
>"Open Door 19," the computer said.<br>The door opened, and the Doctor and Rose gasped in shock, stumbling backwards a few steps. There were aliens on the other side of the door, blinking at them.  
>"Right! Hello! Sorry! Uh... I was just saying, uh... nice base!" the Doctor said, trying to regain his composure.<br>"We must feed," the aliens said together.  
>"You're gonna what?" the Doctor asked.<br>"We must feed," the aliens repeated.  
>"Yeah. I think they mean us," Rose said.<br>They backed away as the aliens advanced. "We must feed," they said again.  
>The Doctor and Rose tried to make for the other door, but it opened and more aliens come through it.<br>"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed," they said.  
>Yet another door opened and more aliens walked slowly through it. The Doctor and Rose were cornered.<br>"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed," they said.  
>The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket as Rose armed herself with a chair.<br>"We must feed. We must feed," the aliens said.  
>The Doctor and Rose, screwdriver and chair at the ready, were backed against the wall by the advancing aliens.<br>"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed."  
>"We must feed," one said, shaking and tapping the white Orb he held before him. "You. If you are hungry," it finished.<br>The Doctor looked confused, and lowered his sonic screwdriver.  
>"Sorry?" he said.<br>"We apologise. Electromagnetics have interfered with our speech systems," the alien said.  
>Rose put down the chair. "Would you like some refreshment?" the alien asked.<br>"Uhm..." the Doctor said.  
>"Open Door 18," the computer said.<br>A door opened and a man came through, flanked by two others holding guns.  
>"What the hell...? How did...?" he said. He approached the Doctor and Rose, staring at them.<br>"Captain... you're not going to believe this. We've got PEOPLE. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean two... living... people. Just standing here, right in front of me," the man said into his communication device.  
>The Doctor and Rose didn't quite know what to make of this unusual reception.<br>"Don't be stupid, that's impossible," someone said through the communication device.  
>The man stared at them. "I suggest telling THEM that," he said.<br>"But you're a sort of space base, you must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible," Rose said.  
>"You're telling me you don't know where you are?" the man asked roughly.<br>"No idea. More fun that way," the Doctor said.  
>He grinned.<br>"Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake Point 5 on its way," someone said over the speaker.  
>As the base starts to quake and tremble, the man rushed over to a door and opened it.<br>"Through here! Now. Quickly, come on!" he said.  
>Sirens sounded. The Doctor and Rose ran to follow him through the door, with the two other security guards. "Now!" the man yelled.<br>They came through into another corridor which was shaking with smoke rising from the floor.  
>"Move it! Come on! Come on, come on!" the man said over the noise.<br>Rose screamed as she nearly fell over and sparks flew everywhere. "Move it, come on! Quickly! Move it!" the man said.  
>They hurried down the corridor and into the control room, where the crew were busy working. They all looked up when Rose, the Doctor and the others walked in. Their mouths dropped open. The Doctor beamed around at everyone.<br>"Oh, my GOD. You meant it," a man said.  
>"People! Look at that! Real people!" said a girl.<br>"That's us. Hooray!" the Doctor said.  
>Roe smiled at them. "Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose... Rose Tyler, and- and this is the Doctor," she said.<br>A man strode over to them. "Come on... the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be... no. They're real!" he exclaimed.  
>"Come ON, we're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up, the quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!" someone said. The seconds were counting down on a computer screen. "Sorry, you two, whoever you are. Just... hold on. Tight," he said to Rose and the Doctor.<br>"Hold on to what?" Rose asked.  
>"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?" he said.<br>The Doctor and Rose found some railings to hold on to. "Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated," one of the aliens said.  
>"What's this planet called, anyway?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" a woman replied.  
>The Doctor raised his eyebrows.<br>"You really don't know, do you?" she said.  
>"And... IMPACT!" the man yelled.<br>The entire base shook violently. The crew, the Doctor and Rose all hang on tightly, but it was over pretty quickly. The Doctor stood.  
>"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad-" the Doctor started. He was thrown backwards as the base shook even more violently than it did before. He hung to the railing for dear life. There was a small explosion from one of the consoles. Sparks flew around the room. They were all tossed about like rag-dolls. Finally, it stopped.<br>"Okay, that's it," the man said.  
>The first man they'd seen hurried forward with a fire extinguisher. "Everyone all right? Speak to me, Ida?" He asked.<br>"Yeah, yeah!" Ida replied.  
>"Danny?"<br>"Fine," Danny said.  
>"Toby?"<br>"Yeah, fine," Toby replied.  
>"Scooti?"<br>"No damage," she said.  
>"Jefferson?"<br>"Check!" he said.  
>"We're fine, thanks, fine, yeah, don't worry about us," the Doctor said.<br>"The surface caved in," the man said.  
>The graphics on the computer screen indicated the part of the base that had been lost.<br>"I deflected it onto storage 5 through 8. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link," he said.  
>"That's not my department," Toby complained.<br>"Just do as I say, yeah?" the man said.  
>Toby grudgingly left the room.<br>"Oxygen holding. Internal gravity 56.6. We should be okay," Ida said.  
>Rose looked around. "Never mind the earthquake, that's... that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?" Rose asked.<br>"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum," Scooti said.  
>"Then what's shaking the roof?" Rose asked.<br>"You're not joking. You really don't know? Well - introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer," she said.  
>She indicated the man whose name they hadn't heard yet. "Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir... you've met Mr Jefferson, he's head of security. Danny Bartock. Ethics committee."<br>"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny said.  
>The Doctor and Rose grinned at him.<br>"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, archaeology, and this," she placed her hands on Scooti's shoulders. "is Scooti Manista. Trainee maintenance."  
>Scooti smiled at them. Ida went over to a set of controls. "And this... this is home," she said. She turned a lever and a whirring sound started.<br>"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad," Zach said.  
>The room was flooded with a red-ish light as an overhead window opened, revealing a black hole right above them. The Doctor and Rose stood, amazed, watching the light being sucked into it.<br>"That's a black hole," Rose said.  
>"But that's impossible," the Doctor said in disbelief.<br>"I did warn you," Zach said.  
>"We're standing under a black hole," the Doctor said.<br>"We're in orbit," Ida said.  
>"But we can't be," the Doctor insisted.<br>"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit," Ida said.  
>The Doctor turned to look at her. "But we CAN'T be," he insisted stubbornly.<br>"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss," Ida said.  
>"And that's bad, yeah?" Rose said.<br>"That doesn't cover it... a black hole's a dead star, it collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity... time... everything just gets pulled inside... and crushed," the Doctor said.  
>"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in," Rose said.<br>"We should be dead," the Doctor said.  
>"And yet... here we are. Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board," Ida said.<br>"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose asked.  
>She pointed to clouds speeding rapidly towards the black hole outside the base. "Stars breaking up... gas clouds... we have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads before falling into that thing," Ida said.<br>"So, a bit worse than a storm, then," Rose said.  
>"Just a bit," Ida said.<br>"Just a bit, yeah," Rose said.  
>The base shook again, and Toby came back into the control room, where the crew, the Doctor and Rose were crowded around the control panel.<br>"Close Door 1," the computer said.  
>"The rocket link's fine," Toby said.<br>Zack tapped a button on the controls and a hologram the black hole appeared before them. The Doctor put his glasses on. "That's the black hole officially designated K37 Gen 5," Zach said.  
>"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called 'Kroptor'. The bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out. Because it was poison," Ida said.<br>"The bitter pill. I like that," Rose said.  
>The Doctor stared at the hologram. "We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe - how did you even GET here?" he asked.<br>"We flew in. You see," he pressed another button and the hologram changed to one of the planet with a gravity field emanating out from it like a tunnel. "This planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how - we've no idea, but... it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there. A funnel. A distinct... gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in," Zach explained.  
>"You flew down that thing?" Rose asked. She grinned. "Like a rollercoaster."<br>"By rights, the ship should've been torn apart. We lost the Captain... which is what put me in charge," Zach said.  
>"You're doing a good job," Ida said consolingly.<br>"Yeah. Well, needs must," Zach said.  
>"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out," the Doctor said.<br>"We had fun speculating about that," Scooti said.  
>"Oh, yeah. That's the word," Danny said, whacking Scooti on the head with a scroll. "Fun."<br>The Doctor looked completely stumped. "But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power! I mean... not just big, but off the scale! Can I...?" he asked, gesturing to the controls.  
>"Sure. Help yourself," Ida said. She pushed the calculator over to him and left him to it. One of the aliens approached Rose and gives her a cup.<br>"Your refreshment," he said.  
>Rose took it. "Oh yeah, thanks. Thank you. I'm sorry, what was your name?" she asked.<br>"We have no titles. We are as one," it said.  
>He left. Rose approached Danny. "Uhm, what are they called?" Rose said, gesturing to the aliens.<br>"Oh, come on. Where've you been living? Everyone's got one!" Danny said.  
>"Well, not me, so what are they?" Rose asked.<br>"They're the Ood," he said.  
>"The 'Ood'?" Rose asked.<br>Danny nodded. "The Ood."  
>"Well that's... ood," Rose said.<br>"Very ood! But handy. They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision, and maintenance! They're born for it. Basic slave race," Danny said.  
>"You've got slaves?" Rose asked.<br>"Don't start - she's like one of that lot. Friends of the Ood," Scooti said.  
>"Well maybe I am, yeah. Since when do humans need slaves?" Rose said, sounding slightly annoyed.<br>"But the Ood offer themselves. If you DON'T give them orders, they just pine away and die," Danny said.  
>One of the Ood approached Rose. She eyed it.<br>"Seriously? You like being ordered about?" Rose asked it.  
>"It is all we crave," the Ood replied.<br>"Why's that, then?" Rose asked.  
>"We have nothing else in life," he said, and Rose was reminded of Shadow.<br>"Yeah, well I used to think like that. A long time ago," Rose said.  
>"There we go. D'you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds," the Doctor said.<br>"That's a lot of sixes," Rose said.  
>"And it's impossible," the Doctor said.<br>"It took us two years to work that out!" Zach said.  
>"I'm very good," the Doctor replied modestly.<br>"But... that's why we're here. This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it," Ida said.  
>"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazen Scale," Zach said.<br>"We could revolutionize modern science," Ida said.  
>"We could use it to fuel the Empire," Toby said.<br>The Doctor rook his glasses off. "Or start a war," he said.  
>"It's buried beneath us. In the darkness, waiting," Toby said.<br>"What's your job? Chief... dramatist?" Rose asked him.  
>The Doctor smirked.<br>"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomena. And this, er, planet once supported life. Eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk," Toby said.  
>"I saw that lettering written on the wall. Did YOU do that?" the Doctor asked.<br>Toby nodded. "I copied it from fragments we found on earth by the drilling, but I can't translate it," he said.  
>"No, neither can I. And that's saying something," the Doctor said.<br>"There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out. Calling us in," Toby said.  
>The Doctor grinned at them. "And you came," he said.<br>"Well, how could we not?" Ida asked.  
>Zach switched off the hologram.<br>The Doctor was still grinning at them all fondly. "So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was THERE. Brilliant. Excuse me, ah, Zach, wasn't it?" he asked.  
>"That's me," Zach said.<br>"Just stand there, 'cos I'm gonna hug you. Is that all right?" the Doctor asked.  
>Jefferson stared at him.<br>"I s'pose so," Zach said.  
>"Here we go. Coming in," the Doctor said. He threw his arms around Zach and clutched him, beaming. "Ahh, human beings, you are amazing!" he said.<br>Ida looked bemused.  
>"Ha!" the Doctor said.<br>Rose chuckles. The Doctor released Zach.  
>"Thank you," he said.<br>"Not at all," Zach said.  
>"But apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags and get back in that ship and fly for your lives," the Doctor said.<br>"You can talk! And how the hell did YOU get here?" Ida asked.  
>"Oh, I've got this um... this... it's hard to explain, it just sort of... appears," the Doctor replied.<br>"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from um... oh, what's it called? Uh, habitation area..." Rose started.  
>"Three," the Doctor said.<br>"Three. Three," Rose said.  
>"Do you mean storage six?" Zach asked.<br>"Uh, it was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," the Doctor said cheerfully.  
>Zach glanced uncomfortably at Ida.<br>"Storage six, but you said... You said... you said storage five to eight," he realized in horror.  
>Without another word, he turned on his heel and dashed from the room.<br>He sprang back down the corridor, Rose hot on his tail.  
>"What is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor frantically opened Door 19, and ran back into the canteen area.  
>"Open Door 19," the computer.<br>He sprinted the length of the room.  
>"Close Door 19," the computer said.<br>The Doctor spun the wheel to try and open the door back through the other corridor.  
>"Stupid doors, come ON!" he yelled furiously.<br>It swung open, and they emerged into yet another corridor.  
>"Open Door 17," the Computer said.<br>They dashed down the corridor, and opened another door.  
>"Open Door 15," the computer said.<br>The Doctor slammed himself against the next door, frantically pushing the button to open it but it wouldn't budge.  
>"Door 16 out of commission," the computer said.<br>"Can't be, can't be!" the Doctor yelled.  
>"What's wrong? What is it?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor opened a small round window in the door and looked through it.  
>"Doctor, the Tardis is in there. What's happened?" Rose asked.<br>"The Tardis is gone," he replied. "The earthquake. This section collapsed," he said.  
>Rose stared at him, puzzled.<br>"But it's gotta be out there somewhere," she said.  
>She peered out of the window to witness the rocky landscape of the planet outside.<br>"Look down," the Doctor said.  
>Rose looked down. There was a gaping chasm right beneath them. "But what about Shadow?" Rose asked.<br>His face brightened for aminute. "Oh, yes! I can reach her through the link, wake her up, and tell her what to do. She can bring the Tardis back!" he said excitedly.  
>He closed his eyes, and there was a pause. Then he opened them again, looking let down.<br>"What is it Doctor?" Rose asked.  
>"I can't reach her," he said.<br>"Why not?" Rose asked.  
>"One of several reasons. 1, something could be locking the link. She isn't blocking me, I'd feel it. The more likely reason is that's she's just dead," he said.<br>"What do you mean dead, she's in the Tardis, she should be alright, right?" Rose asked.  
>"She fell to the core of the planet. We have no idea what's down there. If the core of this planet is molten, she could have been incinerated. Or she could have fallen all the way through and into the black hole," he said.<br>"Shadow's gone?" Rose asked softly.  
>He nodded. "I'm afraid so."<p>

I drifted. I was almost ready to wake up. Almost, but not quite. This was laziness on my part. I could have gotten up then with out seriously harming myself. Knowing the Doctor, I should have gotten up as soon as I was able to. But I didn't.  
>Instead of waking up on my own terms, I was jerked awake, by the most awful crash one could imagine. I flew a few feet up into the air, eyes opening midway, landing back on the bed on my face. I sat up immediately, jumping out of bed, and running into the control room. The Doctor was not there. I stood there for a few minutes, waiting for him to run to find out what had caused the crash, when I noticed something very odd. I could not feel his mind through our link. That was not right. That could mean one of three things: one, he was dead. Since I was still alive, I crossed that one out immediately.<br>Two, he was blocking me. But that could not be, becuase I would feel his mind, feel him blocking me out.  
>That left only one possible reason. Something besides one of us was blocking the link. It would have to be a very powerful something, with at least class 13 phsycic abilities. Or a very powerful sub-wave sonic pulsar. Something more powerful than the Wire, because I had felt SOMETHING when I had tried to reach him with the Wire. Now, there was just nothing. So there it was. One of two things: advanced technology, or a powerful telepath. Now that I knew that, I had to go about the busines of finding my Doctor, because it is very hard to accidentally block a mental link between two minds. If they were doing it on accident, no trouble, and that was always good. But I would go with the assumtion that this was not an accident, because that was safest. And I had to find my Doctor anyways. My place was behind him. Nowhere else.<br>I opened the door to the Tardis, and took one step outside. The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't breathe. This was a problem. Then something pulled me, tugging my feet out from under me. I grabbed onto the door frame of the Tardis, holding on for dear life as some force continued to tug on me relentlessy, trying to pull me up. I couldn't breathe, and I tried teleporting into the Tardis, before remembering that I couldn't. I pulled harder, trying to haul myself into the Tardis. I got my head and shoulders into the Tardis, gasping for breath. I pulled harder, moving up to my waist in the ship, bracing myself against the wall, and pulling my legs inward. I dropped to the ground with a cry as I entered the ship fully, the artificial gravity within pulling me down. I closed the door and collapsed against it, breathing hard, and thinking. I had not been able to jump into the Tardis, and that was normal, but I hadn't been able to teleport at all. There was something blocking the teleport device. And the link with my Doctor. I was now convinced that there was no way this was an accidntal blocking, and the chances were high that my Doctor was in danger. So, I had to find some way to get to him. I walked over to the console, and pressed a button. I had no idea how to operate the Tardis, and I didn't know where the Doctor was anyways. I was scanning for life forms. There were some, very far up, but I was also getting some very odd readings from higher up. There was a black hole above this planet. That would have been what was pulling me up. But I was also getting some odd readings from not too far away, enormous energy readings. I though that that was probably what was blocking my link with the Doctor. So I would, for lack of a better plan, go, try to disable the source of the energy, and see if I could reach the Doctor through our link then. And then I would be able to find him. So, I had to figure out some way to get out of the Tardis.  
>I had no idea where the spacesuits were, and even if I did, you needed an access code to get to them. I didn't have the access code, so spacesuits were out of the question. I had a thought, and I eyed the corridor leading to medical storage. My Doctor had built up quite and impressive collection of this and that over the centuries, and I might find something that could help me. I got up, heading for medical storage.<p>

"But I NEED my ship," the Doctor said. "It's all I've got. Literally the only thing."  
>"Doctor, WE'VE only got the resources to drill ONE central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions - NO EXCEPTIONS. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that... is the end of it," Zach said. He left. Ida approached the Doctor, who looked completely helpless.<br>"I'll uh - put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," she said.  
>She followed Zach from the room.<p>

"YES!" I yelled. I wasn't happy. I had no emotions. But this was progress, progress towards getting me back to my Doctor. I held the little device tenderly, and got up, headng for Sick Bay.

"Help yourself. Just don't have the green. Or the blue," Scooti said. She laughed. Rose picked up a tray and went over to the hatch. The Ood were serving.  
>"Uh, bit of that, thanks," Rose said, pointing.<br>The Ood spooned some sloppy blue gloop onto her tray.  
>"Would you like sauce with that?" the Ood asked.<br>"I'll have a go, yeah," Rose said.  
>The Ood shook some sauce onto the tray. Rose grinned.<br>"I did that job once. I was a... a dinner lady! Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although, I dunno, you might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money?" Rose asked.  
>"The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God," the Ood said politely.<br>"I'm sorry?" Rose asked.  
>The Ood tapped his communication orb.<br>"Apologies. I said, 'I hope you enjoy your meal,' the Ood said.  
>"Yeah," Rose said. She picked up her tray and walked off.<p>

I picked up the scalpal, and set it on a tray with the rest of the tools I would need. This was going to hurt, a lot, but I didn't really have a choice. I had to get back to my Doctor. I took a needle and thread, and set them aside, for later use.

In the canteen area, the lights flickered.  
>"Zach - have we got a problem?" Ida said into her wrist comm.<br>"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up, it might be worth a look," Zach replied.  
>Ida looked at the Doctor and Rose who are sat opposite each other at one of the tables.<br>"You might wanna see this. Moment in history," Ida said.  
>She pulled a lever which opened the overhead 'shutters', revealing the black hole overhead and flooding the room with soft red light.<br>Ida pointed. "There. On the edge," she said.  
>A stream of red light was spiralling into the black hole.<br>"That red cloud... that used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi... a mighty civilization spanning a billion years... disappearing. Forever. Their planets and suns consumed," Ida said.  
>She gazed up at it, fascinated, as are the Doctor and Rose. The last of the Scarlet System disappeared into the black hole.<br>"Ladies and gentlemen... we have witnessed its passing," Ida said.  
>She went to pull the lever to close the shutters again, but the Doctor stopped her.<br>"Er, no, could you leave it open?" the Doctor asked.  
>Rose looked at him<br>"Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise," he said.  
>"How would you know?" Ida asked. He smiled.<br>"Scooti, check the lockdown," Ida instructed her.  
>Scooti nodded and left.<br>"Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me," Ida said.  
>Jefferson and Ida left, leaving the Doctor and Rose alone.<br>"I've seen films and things, yeah - they say black holes are like gateways to another universe," Rose said.  
>"Close Door 18," the Computer said.<br>"Not that one. It just eats," the Doctor said.  
>"Long way from home," Rose said.<br>The Doctor glanced at her.  
>He pointed. "Go that way, turn right, keep going for um... about five hundred years... then you'll reach the Earth," he said.<br>Rose took her phone out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons.  
>"No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could... what would I tell her...? Can you build another Tardis?" Rose asked. She laughed half-heartedly, knowing it was impossible.<br>"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone... we're kind of stuck," the Doctor replied.  
>"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift," Rose said.<br>"And then what?" the Doctor said.  
>"I dunno... find a planet... get a job... live a life, same as the rest of the universe," she said.<br>"Pfft... I'd have to settle down. In a house or something, a proper house with... with... with... with DOORS and things. Carpets! Me! Living in a house!" the Doctor said. Rose laughed. "Now that... that is terrifying," he said.  
>"You'd have to get a mortgage," Rose said in a sing-song voice.<br>The Doctor stared at her, horrified. "No," he said.  
>"Oh yes," Rose said.<br>"I am dying. That's it. I am dying, it is all over," he said.  
>"What about me? I'd have to get one too. I dunno, could... could be the same one, we could both..." The Doctor looked at her, and she caught his eye.<br>"I dunno... share. Or not, you know. Whatever," she said.  
>The Doctor nodded, clearly feeling slightly awkward.<br>"I dunno, we'll sort something out," she said quickly.  
>"Anyway," he said.<br>"We'll see!" Rose said, laughing.  
>They sat in silence for a few moments.<br>"I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home," he said.  
>"Everyone leaves home in the end," Rose said.<br>"Not to end up stuck here," he said.  
>"Yeah, but stuck with you - that's not so bad," she said.<br>The Doctor looked at her. "Yeah?" he said.  
>"Yes," Rose said sincerely.<br>The Doctor smiled. The moment was broken by Rose's phone ringing. Rose answered.  
>"He is awake," a deep voice said.<br>Shocked, Rose flung the phone to the floor. They got up, running through the halls. The Doctor and Rose bound down the stairs to see Danny in Ood Habitation.  
>"Evening!" the Doctor said.<br>"Only us!" Rose said.  
>Danny looked up from the computer he had been working at. "The mysterious couple. How are you, then? Settling in?" he asked.<br>"Yeah, sorry, straight to business, the Ood - how do they communicate? I mean, with each other," the Doctor asked.  
>The Ood sat in an area below them in what looked almost like an animal-pen. A balcony over-looked this area and there were steps from there. Danny shrugged.<br>"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does THEM much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle," he said.  
>"This telepathic field - can it pick up messages?" the Doctor asked.<br>"'Cos I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something... well, odd," Rose said.  
>"Oh. An odd Ood," Danny said.<br>"And then I got something else on my er," she glanced at the Doctor. "Communicator thing," she finished.  
>"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing," Danny said.<br>The Doctor and Rose stared at him, far from convinced.  
>"Look... if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill," he said.<br>The Doctor nodded to the computer. "Monitor the field - that's this thing?" he asked.  
>The reading on the screen said 'Basic 5'.<br>"Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register Basic 5," Danny said.  
>While he was speaking, the reading rose to Basic 6. "Well, that's not Basic 5," the Doctor said.<br>It rose, again and again. "10," he said.  
>Rose watched as the Ood suddenly raised their heads in unison as the reading ascended. "20," the Doctor turned to Danny. "They've gone up to Basic 30," he said.<br>"But they can't," Danny said.  
>"Doctor, the Ood," Rose said.<br>The Ood turned, as one, and looked up at the three of them on the balcony. "What does Basic 30 mean?" Rose asked.  
>"Well, it means that they're shouting - screaming inside their heads," Danny said, sounding baffled.<br>"Or something's shouting at them," the Doctor said.  
>Danny tapped on the keyboard. "But... where's it coming from? What is it saying? I mean-" he looked at Rose. "What did it say to you?" he asked.<br>"Something about the beast in the pit," Rose replied.  
>Dany blinked. "What about your communicator? What did that say?" he asked.<br>Rose paused. "He is awake."  
>"And you will worship him," the Ood said as one.<br>"What the hell?" Danny said.  
>The Doctor addressed the Ood. "He is awake," he said.<br>"And you will worship him," they replied.  
>"Worship who?" the Doctor asked. They didn't reply. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?" he asked.<p>

I pressed the button on the Derinian Mending Device. It really was an ingenious peice of technology. There was a special kind of cream, that could be rubbed into cuts. The cream contained Nano's, and the handheld device activated them using White Star Radiation, harmless to most life forms. The Nano's activate, and set to work repairing damage. It would make my work so much less painful. I finished, and stood shakily, pulling my shirt back on. Now I was good to breathe, I just needed something to counteract the black hole's gravity, and some kind of force field to hold air in. The device I had just installed in my respiratory system would take care of the rest. I walked out of Sick Bay, heading to the Doctor's junk closets.

The entire base shook. Rose and the Doctor were down in the 'pen' with the Ood, Danny still on the overhead balcony when they were thrown violently around. They struggled to regain their balance.  
>"Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach," the computer said.<br>"Which section?" Danny asked into his comm device.  
>"Everyone... evacuate 11 to 13, we've got a breach! The base is open. Repeat: the base is OPEN," Zach's voice said over the speakers. The Doctor and Rose ran out of the pen, heading into the canteen area, followed by Danny.<br>"Close Door 19," the computer said.  
>The Doctor, Rose and Danny came from one direction and Ida and other crew members from the other.<br>"And you too, Toby!" Jefferson yelled, pulling him through the door.  
>Toby fell flat on his face through the door as Jefferson slammed it shut.<br>"Breach sealed. Breach sealed," teh computer said.  
>The Doctor dashed over to them. "Everyone all right? What happened? What was it?" he asked.<br>"Oxygen levels normal," the computer said.  
>"Hull breach! We were open to the elements. A couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters," Jefferson said.<br>Rose crouched to help Toby, who was still sweating and panting on the floor.  
>"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?" the Doctor asked.<br>"We've lost sections 11 to 13. Everyone all right?" Zach said over the comm device.  
>"We've got everyone here except Scooti. Scooti, report," Jefferson said into his comm device.<br>There was static and a beep on the communication device. "Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report," Jefferson said.  
>Again, he only came up with the blank beep and the static.<br>"She's all right," Zach said into the comm.  
>"Jefferson and Ida breathed a sigh of relief.<br>"I picked up her bio chip, she's in Habitation 3," Zach continued. "Better go and check if she's not responding, she might be unconscious."  
>"How about that, eh? We survived," Danny said.<br>"Habitation 3... come on, I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on," Jefferson said.  
>Everyone but Toby, the Doctor and Rose followed Jefferson down the corridor. The Doctor crouches down to Toby, who looks severely shaken.<br>"What happened?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I don't- I dunno, I- I was working and then I can't remember. All- all that noise, the room was falling apart, there was no air-" he said quickly.<br>Roe helped Toby to his feet. "Come on. Up you get. Come and have some Protein One," Rose said.  
>She linked her arm through his and walked him along the corridor.<br>"Oh, you've gone native," the Doctor said.  
>"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein One with just a dash of Three," she said, clickng her fingers.<br>When they arrived, the canteen was slightly chaotic. Everyone was looking for Scooti, all talking over each other.  
>"I've checked Habitation 4," Ida said.<br>"There's no sign of her. The bio chip says she's in the area," Jefferson said.  
>Rose and Toby came through the door followed by the Doctor. "Have you seen Scooti?" Jefferson asked.<br>"No, no, no, I don't think so," Toby said.  
>"Scooti, please respond, if you can hear this please respond," Ida said into her wrist com.<br>"Nowhere here," Jefferson said.  
>"Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing," he said into his wrist comm.<br>"It says Habitation 3," Zach said back.  
>"Yeah, well that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's NOT HERE," Jefferson said.<br>The Doctor gazed upwards, through the overhead window.  
>"I've found her," he said.<br>They all looked upwards, following his gaze. Rose's hand flew over her mouth.  
>"Oh, my God," she said.<br>Scooti's body was floating eerily just outside the window.  
>"Sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor said.<br>The rest of them just stared, horrified.  
>"Captain... report Officer Scootori Manista PKD... deceased. 43K2.1," Jefferson said into his comm device softly.<br>"She was twenty... twenty years old," Ida said.  
>She went over to the controls. The Doctor stared up at Scooti's body, grave and silent. Ida pulled the lever to close the shutters. Scooti drifted further and further away towards the black hole as they closed.<br>"For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father... and the temples of his Gods," Jefferson said.  
>His voice dropped to a whisper. The shutters closed completely, leaving the room noticeably darker and gloomier than before. A strange silence had fallen.<br>"It's stopped," Ida said.  
>There was a distant crash.<br>"What was that? What was it?" Rose asked.  
>"The drill," the Doctor said.<br>"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero," Jefferson said.

The ground beneath my feet shook, and I fell to the ground, the contents of the over-stuffed storage closet falling out on top of me. I stood, pushing old parts to various machines off of me. And then, light at the end of the long, long tunnel. Laying at the ground by my feet, was the device I had been searching for. I grinned, picking up the force shield generator, and set it aside, going back to digging through the closet. I needed just a few more components.

"All non-essential Oods to be confined," Zach said over the speaker.  
>The crew were preparing to go down the mineshaft.<br>"Capsule established. All systems functioning... the mineshaft is go... bring systems online now," Ida said.  
>The Doctor, already garbed in a spacesuit, approached Zach. Zach stared at him.<br>"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," the Doctor said.  
>"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are," Zach said.<br>"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on... look me in the eye... yes you do, I can see it. Trust," the Doctor said.  
>"I should be going down," Zach said.<br>"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here. In charge," the Doctor said.  
>"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach said bitterly.<br>The Doctor didn't answer, but simply looked at him. Zach sighed. "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions!" Zach said.  
>Rose caught the Doctor's eye, and he walked over to her. Rose and the Doctor stand facing one another. The Doctor checked a device on the wrist of the spacesuit.<br>"Oxygen... nitro-balance... gravity. It's ages since I wore one of these!" the Doctor said.  
>"I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?" Rose said.<br>"Yes, sir," the Doctor said.  
>He put on the helmet. "It's funny, 'cos people back home think that space travel's gonna be all whizzing about and teleports and anti-gravity... but it's not, is it?" her voice broke slightly. "It's tough."<br>"I'll see you later," the Doctor said confidently.  
>"Not if I see you first," Rose said.<br>She laughed softly and pulled his head down, placing a kiss on his helmet. Zach's voice is boomed out over the speaker.  
>"8... 7... 6..."<br>The Doctor and Ida got into the capsule. Jefferson closed the door after them.  
>"5... 4... 3... 2..."<br>Jefferson saluted them. "1..."  
>Rose waved, smiling. The Doctor waved back, returning the smile.<br>"Release."  
>The capsule descended the shaft. The Doctor and Ida stood inside the shaking capsule in silence.<br>"Gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own," Zach said over the comm device.  
>The Doctor and Ida both switched on their oxygen tanks. "Don't forget to breath. Breathing's good," Rose said over the comm, sounding worried out of her mind. She demonstrated taking deep breaths.<br>"Rose, stay off the comm," Zach said.  
>"Fat chance, they heard her say.<br>The capsule shook rather too violently, and the Doctor and Ida were thrown off their feet. They hung on to the sides of the capsule to steady themselves. The lift stopped, and the Doctor and Ida, at Point Zero, got out of the capsule.  
>"It's all right... we've made it... coming out of the capsule now," the Doctor said.<br>Rose breathed a sigh of relief. The Doctor and Ida stepped slowly out into the darkness, flashing their torches around. "What's it like down there?" Rose asked over the comm.  
>"It's hard to tell... some sort of... cave... cavern... it's massive," the Doctor replied.<br>"Well, this should help. Gravity globe," Ida said, tossing some sort of white orb up into the air. It flooded the entire cavern with light, revealing what was quite clearly ancient architecture. The cavern was enormous, and there was a huge face etched into the rock.  
>"That's... that's... my God, that's beautiful," Ida said, awestruck.<br>The Doctor looked around. "Rose... you can tell Toby... we've found his civilization," he said.  
>"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida... what about the power source?" Zach asked over the comm.<br>The Doctor and Ida traipsed alongside a rocky wall, Ida holding the flashlight in front of them.  
>"We're close. Energy signature indicates north, north west. Are you getting pictures up there?" she asked.<br>"There's too much interference. We're in your hands," Zach said.  
>"Well... we've come this far. There's no turning back," Ida said.<br>"Oh, did you have to?" the Doctor asked. "No turning back? That's almost as bad as "nothing can possible go wrong" or "this is is gonna be the best Christmas Walford's ever had-"  
>"Are you finished?" Ida asked, turning to him.<br>The Doctor stared at her.  
>"Yeah! Finished," he said.<br>He walked off. Ida watched him, slightly amused.

I pulled a boot out of the closet, and smiled, putting it down next to it's mate. I walked out of the closet, and picked up my "treasures": the pair of gravity boots, the force shield generator, and a belt. I headed towards the electronics lab.

"Is everything all right up there?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Yeah, yeah," Rose replied quickly.<br>The Doctor and Ida approached an enormous circular trapdoor with engravings on it.  
>"We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be 'trapdoor'. Not a good word, 'trapdoor'. Never met a trapdoor I liked," the Doctor said.<br>Ida shone the torch around the edge. "The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida said.  
>"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.<br>"That's what trapdoors tend to do," the Doctor said.  
>Ida walked around it. "'Trapdoor' doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter," Ida said.<br>"Any way of opening it?" Zach asked.  
>"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism," Ida replied.<br>"I suppose that's the writing, that'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation," the Doctor said.  
>"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" they heard Zach ask.<br>There was a pause, and they couldn't hear what was bing said. Then they heard an unfamiliar voice.  
>"These are the words of the beast. And he has risen," it said.<br>"What is it? What's he done? What's happening? Rose? What's going on?" the Doctor asked.  
>There was no reply.<p>

I dropped to my knees, clutching my head. There was a message being screamed out, screamed to all who could hear.  
>"The Beast has risen. And you will worship him."<br>It stopped, and I stood back up shakily, and picked up the screwdriver again. I had to hurry.

"Rose? What is it? Rose?" he yelled into the comm device. He turned to Ida. "I'm going back up," he said, walking off towards the lift.  
>Rocks showered down on the Doctor and Ida. Behind them, the trapdoor started to open.<p>

"I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more," the voice comtinued. My hands shook, but I kept working. I was almost finished, and my Doctor needed me.

The Doctor and Ida turned. The pit was all the way open now. Billows of smoke rose from the pit, the ground still shook.  
>"The Pit is open. And I am free," the voice said, laughing horribly.<p> 


	11. The Satan Pit

I attached the force shield to my wrist. I had stripped it bare of the protective covering, decreasing it's size considerably, and mounted it on the belt, which I had cut down to size. I put on the gravity boots, and walked into the Tardis control room. I pushed the button on the Force shield generator, and the Shield activated, humming. I opened the Tardis door and walked out.

"No! Sorry, I'm fine. Still here!" the Doctor yelled into his comm device.  
>"You could've said, you stupid b-" The communication device screeched loudly, blanking the rest of the word out. The Doctor winced.<br>"WHOA! Careful! Anyway, it's both of us, me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm," the Doctor said.  
>"How deep is it?" Zach asked over the comm.<br>"Can't tell," the Doctor replied. "It looks like it goes on forever."  
>"The pit is open," Rose said over the comm. "That's what the voice said."<br>"But there's nothing? I mean, there's... NOTHING coming out?" Zach asked them.  
>"No, no. No sign of 'the Beast'," the Doctor replied.<br>"It said 'Satan'," Rose said.  
>"Come on, Rose. Keep it together," the Doctor said.<br>"Is there no such thing?" Rose asked. He didn't reply. "Doctor?" she asked.  
>The Doctor, still not answering, turned his back on the pit.<br>"Doctor, tell me there's no such thing," Rose said.  
>"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately," Zach said.<br>"But... we've come all this way!" Ida protested.  
>"Okay, that was an order. WITH-DRAW. With that thing open, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now," Zach said.<br>"But it's not much better up there with the Ood," Ida said.  
>"I'm initiating Strategy Nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar-" Ida turned off her wrist device. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.<br>"What do you think?" Ida asked the Doctor.  
>"I think they've an order," he replied.<br>"Yeah, but... what do YOU think?" she asked.  
>The Doctor put one foot on the edge of the pit, staring down into it.<br>"It said 'I am the temptation'," he said.  
>"If... if there's something in there... why's it still hiding?" Ida asked.<br>"Maybe... we opened the prison but not the cell," he said.  
>"We should go down. I'd go. What about you?" she asked.<br>"Oh! Oh, in a second, but then again..." he gave a half laugh, turning to her. "That is so human. Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get. Yeah? Right at the back of your head. That impulse... that strange little impulse... that mad little voice saying "go on... go on... go on... go over, go on..." maybe it's relying on that. For once in my life... Officer Scott... I'm going to say... Retreat," he said.  
>He sighed and pulled his foot back from where it was rested on the edge of the pit.<br>"Now I know I'm getting old," he said. "Rose, we're coming back," he said, reopening communications.  
>"Best news I've heard all day!" Rose said.<br>The Doctor and Ida trudged back to the capsule. "What's Strategy Nine?" he asked.  
>"Open the airlocks. we'll be safe inside the lockdown, and the Ood will get thrown out into the vacuum," Ida said.<br>"So we're going back to a slaughter?" he said.  
>They reached the capsule. Ida turns to him.<br>"The devil's work," Ida said.  
>They climbed into the capsule.<br>"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida said.  
>"Acension in 5...4...3...2..1," Jefferson said.<br>The lights in the capsule went out..  
>"This is the Darkness. This is my domain," the voice of the Beast said.<br>"If you are the Beast, then answer me this: which one?" the Doctor asked. "Hmm? 'Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archivits... Pordonity, Christianity... Pash-Pash, New Judaism... Sanclar... Church of the Tin Vagabond- which devil are you?"  
>"All of them," the Beast said.<br>"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?" the Doctor asked.  
>"This one knows me - as I know him. The killer of his own kind," the Beast said.<br>"How did you end up on this rock?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the previous question.  
>"The disciples of the Light rose up against me. And chained me in the pit for all eternity," the Beast said.<br>"When was this?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Before time," the Beast replied.<br>"What does THAT mean?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Before time," it said.<br>"What does 'before time' MEAN?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created," the Beast said.<br>"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then," the Doctor said.  
>"Is that your religion?" the Beast asked.<br>"It's a belief," the Doctor said.  
>"You know nothing. All of you. So small," it said. "The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy," It said. Ida shifted uncomfortably in the capsule. "The little boy who lied... the virgin... the child whose life was stolen away... the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."<br>"Doctor, what does it mean?" Rose asked.  
>"Rose, don't listen," he said.<p>

"The child whose life was stolen away."  
>I froze midstep when I heard those words. I knew it was talking about me. Like it had directed the words at me specially. But what did that mean? I would think about it later. Now I had to find my Doctor.<p>

"What does it mean?" Rose asked.  
>"You will die... and I will live," the Beast said.<br>The footage of the Ood suddenly cut and was replaced with a roaring horned beast, which caused everyone but the Doctor to gasp and stumble backwards. "What the hell was that?" Danny asked over the comm, his voice shaking with fear.  
>Everyine was speaking over one another, frantic.<br>"I had that thing inside my head," Toby said.  
>"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose asked.<br>"What do we do? Jefferson?" Danny asked.  
>"Captain? What's the situation on Strategy Nine?" Jefferson asked into his comm.<br>"Zach, what do we do?" Danny asked.  
>"What if I can fix it? ... the black hole, everything's true," Toby said.<br>"Captain, report," Jefferson said.  
>"We've lost pictures-" Zach started.<br>"Doctor, how did it know all of-" Rose tried to say.  
>"Did anyone get-" Ida cut her off.<br>"Jefferson?" Zach yelled.  
>"Stop-" the Doctor said.<br>"What did it mean?"Rose asked.  
>"Everyone just stop-" the Doctor said.<br>"What do we do?" Danny interupted.  
>"Report," Jefferson said.<br>The Doctor held the communication device close to the speaker, making it screech loudly. The babble stopped and silence fell.  
>"If you want voices in the dark, then listen to mine; that thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness - childhood nightmares, all that stuff," the Doctor said.<br>"But that's how the devil works," Danny said.  
>"Or a good psychologist," the Doctor said.<br>"But... how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.  
>The Doctor paused "Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine? Hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see: humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space. Flying in a tiny little rocket into the orbit of a black hole! Just for the sake of discovery, that's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing. All of you. The captain - his officer - his elder - his genius - his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-"<br>He was cut off as the cable for the capsule snapped with a loud bang. The capsule fell down the shaft.  
>"The cable's snapped!" Ida cried.<br>"Get out!" the Doctor yelled.  
>They dived out of the capsule just as the cable landed inside it with force.<br>The Doctor and Ida stood, brushing themselves off.  
>"How much air have we got?" he asked.<br>"Sixty minutes," she said, checking her wrist device. "Fifty-five."  
>"We've got all this cable - we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected - we could adapt it," Ida said.<br>She started gathering up the fallen cable. "Feed it through," she said.  
>"And then what?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Abseil. Into the pit," she replied.  
>"Abseil. Right," he said.<br>"We're running out of air with no way back. It's the only thing we CAN do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve," Ida said.  
>"I'll get back. Rose is up there," the Doctor said.<br>"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit," Ida said.  
>"Well... it's half of a good plan," he said.<br>"What's the other half?" she asked.  
>"I go down. Not you," he said.<p>

I walked in the dark, the only light coming from the flashlight I carried. I was heading towards the source of the energy field that was disrupting my ability to communicate telepathically with my Doctor. After I did that, I would improvise depending on what happened. I was close now. I turned a corner and stopped dead in my tracks, staring in awe at the sight in front of me. In front of me, was a massive being. A Beast. The Beast, the one I had heard. It moved forward, bellowing at me, and then stopped. It couldn't come any closer. It was chained to the wall.  
>I took a small step forward. I couldn't speak. You needed air to speak, and I had none. Instead, I tried something else.<br>{What are you?} I sent at it. I only had a link with the Doctor, but I could communicate with other telepathic forms of life. {I am the Beast,} It replied. I cringed. It's voice hurt, burning in my head.  
>{Where is my Doctor?} I asked, ignoring the pain.<br>It laughed. {I will show you your Doctor, Tei,} it said.  
>{What did you call me?} I asked. It did not reply. Instead, I had an immense feeling of dizziness, and then pain, burning in my head, as it showed me where my Doctor was.<p>

_The Doctor and another woman were securing a cable to a contraption.  
>"That should hold it. How's it going?" the woman asked.<br>The cable unraveled.  
>"Fine," the Doctor said. "Should work... doesn't feel like such a good idea now," he said, standing on the edge of the Pit. "Ha, there it is again! That itch." he bobbed up and down crazily. "Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down," he said.<br>"The urge to jump," the woman said. Do you know where it comes from, that sensation?" she asked. "Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our bodies way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch."  
>"No, that's not it. That's too kind," the Doctor said. "It's not the urge to jump, it's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!"<br>He jumped backwards down the pit._

{DOCTOR NO!} I screamed at him, but he couldn't hear me. The Beast laughed again.

_"Doctor!" the woman yelled. She pressed a button and the cable tautened.  
><em>  
>I breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor stopped falling. He was now hanging by the cable a short way into the pit.<p>

_"Are you okay?" the woman asked.__  
><em>_"Not bad, thanks. The wall of the Pit seems to be the same as the cavern, just not much of it. There's a crust about 20 feet down, and then... nothing. Just the Pit. Okay, then, lower me down," he said.  
><em>_"__Well, here we go," the woman said. She pressed the button again. The Doctor was slowly lowered down_ into_ the Pit._

The vision disappeared, and I looked at the Beast.  
>{Stop blocking our link,} I ordered it. It just laughed in response.<br>{Stop it!} I yelled. {Let me talk to him!}  
>{Do you know who you are?} It asked.<br>{I DON'T CARE, STOP BLOCKING OUR LINK!} I screamed at it.  
>{The little girl, who was so frightened of leaving home. But you had no choice, because you were selected.}<br>{Stop it,} I said.  
>{Are you ever angry at you Doctor for stealing your life away from you so effectively?} It asked.<br>{He didn't steal anything from me, now stop it!} I yelled.  
>{If it weren't for him, you would be free. You would be living a life. A life with emotions. Isn't that what you want? To be able to have children? A loving mate?} It asked.<br>{Please stop,} I whispered. {Please just stop it.}  
>{Remember Tei,} It said.<br>{STOP IT!} I yelled. {I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!} I yelled, turning and running, the Beast's taunting laughter following.  
>{You can never run Tei,} it said. I dropped to my kness, scraping my hands on the ground.<br>{LEAVE ME ALONE!} I shrieked.  
>{Watch your Doctor Tei.}<br>{STOP CALLING ME THAT! MY NAME ISN't TEI!} I yelled.  
>{Watch your Doctor die,} It said, sending me another vision.<p>

_The Doctor was still being lowered down the Pit, in complete darkness.  
><em>_"You get representations of the __H__orned Beast right across the universe," he said. "In the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth... Draconia... Velconsadine... Daemos... the Kaled God of War... it's the same image, over and over again. Maybe... that idea came from somewhere. Bleeding htrough... the thought at the back of every sentient mind," he said.  
><em>_"Emanating from here?" the woman asked over the comm.  
><em>_"Could be," the Doctor said.  
><em>_"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?" the woman asked.  
><em>_"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea," he said.  
><em>_The cable ran out, and the Doctor jerked to a halt  
>"That's it, that's all we've got," the woman said<br>The Doctor pressed buttons on the device on his wrist.  
><em>_"You getting any sort of readout?" she asked.  
>"Nothing. Could be miles to go yet. Or it could be thirty feet. No way of telling," he said. He paused, thinking. "I could survive thirty feet," he said. <em>

{NO, DOCTOR, DON'T YOU DARE!} I screamed. "

_"Oh no you don't . I'm pulling you back up," the woman said.  
><em>_He started moving up, but he pressed a button on his end, stopping again.  
><em>_"What're you doing?" the woman asked.  
><em>_"You bring me back, and we're just gonna sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down," he said._

{Let me go,} I plead with the Beast. {Let me teleport, let me get him out of there!} I yelled.  
>The Beast just laughed.<br>{PLEASE!} I screamed.

_"But you can't. Doctor , you can't," the woman said.  
><em>_"Call it an act of faith," he said. He released one of the hooks securing him to the cable._

{DOCTOR DON'T!} I screamed at him desperately, trying to break down the phsycic barrier blocking our link.

_"But.. I don't want to die on my own," the woman said._  
><em>"I know," he said, releasing another hook.<em>

{STOP THIS,} I yelled at the Beast. {PLEASE STOP IT! LET ME HELP HIM!}

_The Doctor released another hook.  
>"I did't ask- have you got any sort of faith, or...?" he asked.<br>"Not really. I was brought up Neo-Classic, congregational... because of my mum, she was..." she paused. "My old mum. But no, I never believed."  
>"Neo-Classic, have they got a devil?" he asked.<br>"No, not as such. Just um... the things that men do," she said.  
><em>  
>I got up, running blindly back in the direction of the Beast.<p>

_"Same thing in the end," the Doctor said.  
><em>_"What about you?" the woman asked.  
><em>_The Doctor paused for a long moment, thinking._

I fell to my knees before the Beast.  
>{LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HIM!} I yelled.<p>

_"I believe... I believe I have't seen everything, I don't know... it's funny, isn't it? The things you make up-the rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe... impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you Ida," he said.  
><em>_"Don't go!" Ida yelled.  
><em>_"If they get in back touch... if you talk to Rose.. just tell her.." he said, unable to finish.  
><em>  
>{Doctor don't,} I begged silently. {Don't do it.}<p>

_He looked down.  
><em>_"Tell her..." he paused again. "Oh, she knows," he said to himself. He released the final hook, and fell into nothingness._

I felt the barrier lift between us. This Beast, this cruel Beast, would allow me to feel him die.  
>{DOCTOR!} I screamed at him.<br>{Shadow?} he asked. {I thought you were dead!}  
>{WELL I'M GOING TO BE IN A FEW MINUTES YOU SELFISH BASTARD!} I screamed as loud as I could.<br>He was still falling.  
>{Alright, so a lot more than thirty feet,} he sent.<br>{WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?} I screamed.  
>{Sheesh, you're emotional right now,} he sent.<br>{WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO BE?} I asked.  
>{Well, the chip should have wiped your memory, and-} he stopped mid-sentence. {Oh, it did, didn't it? You've met the Beast,} he sent. {Wow, this is a very, very long way to fall,} he commented.<br>{STOP EMPHASIZING THE OBVIOUS DOCTOR!} I screamed.  
>{Shadow, you're giving me a headache. If I'm going to die, I don't want to die with a headache,} he sid.<br>{YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS! AND THEN, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU MYSELF FOR ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT!} I screamed.  
>{Please don't,} he sent. Then his end went black.<br>{Doctor?} I asked. {Doctor, are you there? ANSWER ME!}  
>There was no reply. I stood, glaring at the Beast.<br>{I have one hour left to live,} I said. {I can find some way to kill you in that time,} I sent. It laughed, and showed me where my Doctor was. I turned and ran, heading for him. I had nowhere else to go, nothing to do. I saw him, lying on the ground, face down. His helmet was broken. I ran to him, falling to my knees at his side.  
>{You idiot, why'd you have to let go?} I sent, tears running down my face.<br>There was no reply. I had expected none. {Do you realize what you've done?} I sent, turning him onto his back. {Now I die too. How stupid is that?}  
>I took the helmet off of him, brushing the shards of glass off of his face carefully. And then I noticed something odd.<br>He was breathing. How could he be breathing? There was no air here. And then the more important point hit me. He was BREATHING. That meant-  
>{Doctor?} I yelled, hand flying to his chest. Yes, both hearts were beating. He was ALIVE.<br>{DOCTOR!} I yelled into our link, slapping his face lightly. {DOCTOR, WAKE UP!} I screamed at him. He groaned, hand flying to his head.  
>{Stop yelling at me Shadow, I don't want to die with a headache,} he said.<br>{You're alive you idiot, you're not going to die! _I'M_ NOT GOING TO DIE!} I yelled. He opened his eyes, and sat up, looking around.  
>"Air cushion to support the fall," he said, more to himself than me. He turned on his comm. "You can breath down here, Ida," he said. "Can you hear me, Ida?"<br>{Doctor, there is no air here,} I said. {I can't breath.}  
>He looked at me in confusion. "Then how are you here?" he asked.<br>I showed him the Force Shield generator. He looked at me.  
>"But that holds air in. You still wouldn't have enough air for more than a few minutes. You can't be breathing," he said.<br>{I'm not,} I sent.  
>"Then how are you-" he stopped, looking me over. "Oh you didn't," he said.<br>{Yes I did,} I sent back. "You installed it?" he asked.  
>{Yes,} I said.<br>"You installed it yourself?" he asked.  
>{Yes I did,} I said.<br>He stared at me in horror. "What-" he stopped, looking up as there was a rumbling sound.  
>"A rocket..." he whispered. He watched as it flew further and further away.<br>The Doctor got up, and started walking, in the direction of the Beast's cavern.  
>{The Beast is in there,} I sent.<br>"Well then, it's about time I met him face-to-face, isn't it?" he said, grinning. I shook my head. He was insane.  
>He shone his torch on the wall of the cavern. There were crude drawings of a horned beast and tiny stick figures surrounding it.<br>"History of some big battle. Man against Beast. I dunno if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it," he said.  
>The light of his torch fell on what looked like a large vase on a stand. Surprised, he turned the torch light back on the symbols of people carrying the vase on their heads. He approached the vase - there is another one in line with the first. "Or maybe that's the key," he said, thinking aloud.<br>He touched the vase, and they both lit up. "Or the gate, or the bars," he comtinued.  
>The Doctor turned upon hearing a quiet growl. His mouth dropped open as he saw the Beast. It roared at him. He stared at the Beast.<br>"I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that," he said.  
>The Beast growled. The Doctor took a few steps forwards.<br>{Doctor,} I sent in warning.  
>"But I don't understand. I was EXPECTED down here. I was given a safe landing, and air. You need me for something. What for?" he asked. The Beast lunged forwards, straining against the chains holding him.<br>"Have I got to... I dunno, beg an audience? Or... is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in - are they real?" he asked The Beast just looked at him. "Speak to me! Tell me!" he said loudly. The Beast did not reply to him. "You won't talk. Or... you CAN'T talk. Hold on, hold on. Wait a minute, just let me..." he thought hard. "Oh! No. Yes! No... think it through, you SPOKE before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that - brilliant! But, looking at you now... all I can see," the Beast growled. "is Beast. The animal. Just... the body. You're just the body, the physical form! What's happened to your mind? Hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" he asked. He glances upwards. "Oh, no..." he said. The Doctor shone his torch on the symbols covering the walls. "You're imprisoned," he said. "Long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in-between, doesn't matter. The positioning is PERFECT. It's absolutely- it's eternal. Oh, YES! Open the prison - the gravity field collapses! This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. BRILLIANT! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is just an idea. In all those civilisations - just an idea." He pauses, edging forwards as he worked it out. "But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind - the mind of the great Beast - the mind can escape! Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air - your jailers did! They set this up! All those years ago! They need me alive. Because if you're escaping, then I've gotta stop you," he said.  
>The Beast roared in fury, straining against the chains. The Doctor picked up a rock.<br>{DOCTOR NO!} I yelled, running forward.  
>"If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it," he said. He swung the rock over his head, ready to bring it crashing down on the vase - and then stopped. He dropped it.<br>"But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I'll have to sacrifice Rose," he said.  
>He had a look of mild disgust on his face. The Beast laughed mirthlessly. "So, that's the trap. Or the test or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her," he said.<br>The Beast laughed, then roared at him. "Except that implies - in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils - that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods - out of all that - out of that whole pantheon - if I believe in one thing... just one thing... I believe in HER," he said.  
>{DON'T YOU DARE,} I shrieked, He picked up the rock and smashed the vase. {DOCTO NO!} I yelled.<br>The Doctor smashed the other vase. "This is your freedom! Free to DIE. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you," he said.  
>Flames fell from the Beast's mouth. I marched over to him, grabbing his arm roughly.<br>{The hell you are,} I sent, hauling him away roughly.  
>"Where are we going?" he asked.<br>We turned the corner, and he saw the Tardis.  
>"Oh, YES!" he yelled, yanking the door open and running inside. He took us to the edge of the pit, above it. He started to go out, and then ran back in, gasping for breath. "Ida's out there," he said. "But I can't breath. We're out of the Pit."<br>{I'll get her,} I said, activating the Force Shield. I walked out, and saw her, lying on the ground by the side of the Pit. I grabbed her under her arms, pulling her into the Tardis. The Doctor closed the door, and ran back to the console as I tugged her helmet off.  
>"Is she still alive?" he asked.<br>{She's fine, just unconcious,} I said.  
>"Good," he said, turning on the inter-ship communications device. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS," he said. "Now, first thing's first - have you got a Rose Tyler on board?" he asked.<br>"I'm here! It's me! Oh, my God!" she said, sounding giddy. "Where are you?" she asked.  
>"I'm just towing you home. Gravity-schmavity. My people practically invented black holes," the Doctor said. "Well - in fact, they did," he said, pulling a lever. "In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and captain - can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler - I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?" he asked.<br>"She's alive!" we heard someone say delightedly.  
>"YES! Thank God," another man said.<br>"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right," he said. He turned solemn. "I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet," he said.  
>{What are Ood?} I asked. He sent me an image of an Ood.<br>The computer bleeped.  
>"Ah! Entering clear space - end of the line - mission closed," he said.<br>Rose opened the door of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked up and smiled. They ran to each other and the Doctor gathered Rose up into his arms, lifting her clean off the floor. They both giggled, happy to see one another again. "Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home," the Doctor said over the comm.  
>"And the next time you get curious about something- oh... what's the point? You'll just go blundering in. The human race..." he said.<br>"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature - what was it?" Ida asked.  
>"I don't know! Never did decipher that writing. But that's good! Day I know everything? Might as well stop," he said.<br>"What do you think it was? Really?" she asked.  
>"I think... we beat it. That's good enough for me," the Doctor said.<br>"It said I was gonna die in battle," Rose said.  
>The Doctor caught her eye.<br>"Then it lied," he said.  
>Rose smiled. "Right, onwards, upwards - Ida - see you again, maybe!" the Doctor said.<br>"I hope so," she replied.  
>"And thanks, boys!" Rose said.<br>"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said... you two... who are you?" Ida asked.  
>"Oh..." he looked at Rose. "The stuff of legend."<br>He pulled a lever and we watched the rotor rise and fall. I walked up behind him, arms crossed over my chest.  
>"Doctor," I said. He turned. "The Beast... he called me Tei. He said my life had been stolen away." I paused. "He said it was your fault."<br>The Doctor looked very uncomfortable.  
>"Who am I Doctor?" I asked. "Who am I really?"<br>"Your name was Tei Neferati. You were born on the planet Galva Neerta," he said. "Your parents were Saali, and Grem. When you were six, you were 'selected'," he said.  
>"What does selected mean?" I asked.<br>"The Galva Neertan government took you from your parents, and stuck you in a tank. They increased your growth rate. 15 years of life, gone in a few days. They installed your Shadow Device, and the teleporter," he said.  
>"Why didn't I remember?" I demanded.<br>He looked at me sadly. "They also installed a chip, in your brain. It wipes away any trace of the life you had before you were selected. And it inhibits emotion," he said.  
>"Can we take it out?" I asked.<br>He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Removing it would kill you."  
>"There has to be something we can do," I said desperately.<br>"I'm afraid there isn't. If there was, I swear, I would do it," he said.  
>"But... but that's not fair. Doctor that's not fair! Why me?" I asked. I collapsed, and he caught me. "What's happening?" I asked, pushing him away and scrambling to my feet.<br>"The chip's starting. You'll go to sleep, and when you wake up, you'll have forgotten again," he said.  
>"But I don't want to," I whispered, a single tear falling down my cheek. "I don't want to forget," I said.<br>I locked eyes with him. "Promise me Doctor," I said. "Promise you'll make me remember. Promise."  
>"I promise," he said softly. I closed my eyes and collapsed, letting the chip take over again.<p> 


	12. Fear Her

Rose walked out of the Sick Bay, looking like she was about to vomit.  
>"Doctor, there's... there's blood, all over in there," she said.<br>He looked up from the book he was reading. "Ah. Yeah, I've got to clean that up later. Just, stay out for now, okay?" he said, putting his nose back into the book.  
>"What's it from though?" Rose asked.<br>He put the book down again. "Shadow performed a major operation while we were on Kroptor," he said.  
>"What kind of operation?" Rose asked.<br>"She installed an oxygen filter into her respiratory system," he said. "The filter makes it possible to survive without breathing by recycling the oxygen already present in your bloodstream. Ingenius really. I've had the device for a while, but I never had the guts to get it installed."  
>"Why not?" Rose asked.<br>"Well 'cause it hurts," he said.  
>"What, can't you get anesthesia or something?" Rose asked. He shook his head.<br>"You have to be concious during the operation, or you'll stop breathing," he said.  
>Rose looked back up the staircase. "So she hacked open her chest, and installed a device into her respiratory system, just to be able to go and find you?" she asked.<br>He nodded grimly. "See why I left her on Earth now?" he asked.  
>Rose just nodded. There was a pause. "Is it normal for someone like her? To keep remembering that they had a life before?"<br>"There aren't very many like her out there. She was an experiment, specially grown along with five others. All the others were just force-grown, but Shadow and four others were selected. They had lives before they were Units," he said.  
>"What kind of experiment?" Rose asked.<br>"The Galva Neertan government wanted to see of certain emotions could actually increase the Units performance. They can feel fear, but only for the person they protect. And anger towards things trying to hurt them."  
>"That is really twisted," Rose said.<br>He looked at her. "It is."

The Next Day

"Ah," the Doctor said, staring at a blue wall in front of him.  
>He went back inside, heading to the console. He pressed a few buttons, and then stepped out the door.<br>"Ah!" he said, walking into open space this time.  
>Rose followed him, and they looked around. I sniffed the air curiously. It smelled funny. Felt funny too.<br>"So, near future, yeah?" Rose asked.  
>"I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped," the Doctor said.<br>Rose and the Doctor walked down a road with a 'LONDON 2012' banner.  
>"30th Olympia," the Doctor said.<br>"No way! Why didn't I think of this, that's great! Ah!" she said.  
>The Doctor beamed.<br>"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about... wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood about, begging... no, wait a minute... that was Club Med," the Doctor said, laughing at his own joke. "Just in time for the opening doo dah - ceremony... tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch, lovely chap, what was his name?" the Doctor mused. "Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet," he said.  
>"Doctor-" Rose said.<br>"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to," he continued.  
>"Doctor?" she called.<br>"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top-"  
>"You should really look," she interupted.<br>"Do you know those - those things?" he asked, finally sauntering over to her. "Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius," he said. He stopped, reading the poster Rose was pointing to. It was a missind children poster. There were two of them, one for a girl, and one for a boy.  
>"What's taking them, do you think?" the Doctor asked, more to himself than to either me or Rose. He scanned the street. "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold...? Is something reducing the temperature...?" Yes, he was definitely talking to himself.<br>"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?" Rose asked.  
>"What makes you think it's a person?" he asked.<br>{Doctor, this whole place feels odd,} I sent. He took a while to reply. I had noticed that. He was being a lot more gaurded about his thoughts lately. It was no concern of mine, so I let it slip again.  
>{Yes it does, doesn't it?} he sent back, walking over into one of the yard. This one had a net set up in it. I stopped. The energy readings were significantly higher here than anywhere else.<br>The Doctor crouched down, holding his hand out in front of him, as though feeling something invisible. He stayed there, his hand hovering above what appeared to the naked eye to be an ordinary area of grass. But that ordinary patch of grass was giving off energy very high readings.  
>{Doctor, what could be giving off readings like that?} I asked. He ignored me, and I left it alone.<br>I glanced over at Rose, who appeared to be pushing a car down the road. I turned my attention back to the Doctor, aware of a human approaching from behind. I tensed, activating my Shadow Filter. The man looked at the spot where I had been standing, his mouth open. Oops, I thought. He shook his head though and looked at the Doctor again.  
>The Doctor giggled. "Tickles!" he said, flexing his fingers.<br>The man walked up right behind him, his hands in his pockets.  
>"What's your game?" he asked.<br>The Doctor spun around abruptly. "y... um... Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at... Squash. Reasonable," he stopped. "I'm... being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it," he said.  
>"What are you doing?" the man asked, looming threateningly. I took a step forward.<br>{Doctor,} I sent.  
>{Turn off that Perception Filter T- Shadow. There's no need for it," he said.<br>{Doctor, there is a threatening male advancing. There is need,} I replied.  
>"Well, I'm- I'm investigating," the Doctor said in response to the man.<br>"Investigating? Who do you think you are?" the man asked, moving a step closer and raising his voice threateningly.  
>The Doctor stood and backed up quickly as the man advanced.<br>"I'm- I'm a police officer! I've got a badge, and- and a police car... you don't have to get- I can- I can prove it! Just hold on-" He fished in his pocket for the psychic paper.  
>"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look - or sound - like any of them," the man said. We were right next to Rose in the street now. The Doctor pointed in Rose's face. "See, look! I've got a colleague! Lewis," he said. Rose gave the man wink.<br>"Well, she looks less like a copper than you do," the man said.  
>"Training. New recruit. It was either that or hairdressing, so-" he pulled his hand out of his pocket, brandishing the psychic paper at the man. "Voila!"<br>"What are you going to do?" a woman said, walking up to us.  
>"The police have knocked on every door - no clues, no leads, nothing," an elderly woman said.<br>"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right?" the man said. "That's what they do-"  
>"Dale Hixon in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then...!" she mimicked something disappearing. "Right in front of me, like he was never there! There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us," she said. "Why don't we-" the Doctor started.<br>"Why don't we start with him?" a woman asked, pointing at a worker. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."  
>"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" the worker said indignantly.<br>"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it," the man who had threatened my Doctor said.  
>"I'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is just-" the Doctor tried to say.<br>"You don't- what you just said, that's slander!" he said to the woman, ignoring the Doctor.  
>"I don't care what it is!" she said.<br>"I think we need to just-" the Doctor started.  
>"I want an apology off her!" the worker said.<br>"Stop picking on him," the elderly woman said.  
>"Yeah, stop picking on me!" the worker agreed.<br>"And stop pretending to be blind! It's evil!" the elderly woman said.  
>"I don't believe in evil," the man who had threatened my Doctor said.<br>"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van," the worker said angrily.  
>"Ay, ay, ay, that's not what she's saying," another man said.<br>"Would you stop ganging up on me?" the worker yelled.  
>"Feeling guilty, are we?" the woman asked.<br>"Fingers on lips!" the Doctor yelled over the noise.  
>He put his finger on his lips and glared around at them all as if daring them not to do the same. The council worker behind the man being accused had already obeyed, and after a moment of complete bewilderment, the accused worker and the man who had threatened my Doctor put their fingers on their lips too. The Doctor looked pointedly at Rose, who followed suit. I did not put my finger on my lips. It would have been a pointless gesture, as I was unseen, and I wasn't going to say anything anyways. Now everyone had their fingers on their lips, and silence had fallen.<br>"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?" the Doctor asked.  
>The elderly woman gestured to ask permission to take her finger off her lips. "Er... can I...?" seh said.<br>The Doctor motioned for her to go ahead.  
>"Look around you... this was a safe street 'til it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will," she said. "Maybe you're coppers - maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?" she begged.<br>Rose looked up to see a girl watching us. One of the women noticed Rose watching her and spun around to look up at the window. She hurried back inside. "Yes, I do believe we can," the Doctor said, and I groaned internally.

"Want a hanky?" Rose asked the Doctor.  
>"Can you smell it?" he asked. Rose sniffed.<br>"What does it remind you of?" he asked.  
>"Sort of... metal?" Rose said.<br>The Doctor nodded. "Mm-hm!" he sais.  
>Rose grinned, "Oooh," she said.<br>The Doctor waved to the man who had threatened him, and then walked away, going down an alley.  
>"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other," he said. He stopped. "Whoa, there it goes again!" he said, showing Rose the back of his hand. "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand," he said.<br>{Doctor,} I sent.  
>{Not right now T- Shadow,} he sent back.<br>Rose inhaled. "And there's that smell... it's like a um... a burnt fuse plug or something," Rose said.  
>"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this," he said.<br>{Doctor, we should leave,} I sent, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up straight.  
>{We will,} he said. {After we figure this one out.}<br>We walked out of the alley, going down the street a bit. Roese was walking a few paces behind the Doctor.  
>"Aren't you a beautiful boy!" she said to a ginger colored cat.<br>The Doctor beamed. "Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing," he said, before noticing Rose was talking to the cat.  
>"Oh," he said disappointedly.<br>Rose stroked it. "I used to have one like you," she said to it.  
>The cat meowed. The Doctor watched uncomfortably, looking like he had a nasty taste in his mouth.<br>Rose noticed. "What?" she asked him.  
>"No, I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it," he said. The cat wandered over to a cardboard box.<br>Rose followed it. "Come here, puss!" she said. The Doctor looked away.  
>{Are you jealous of a cat?} I sent.<br>{What? No, no I'm not,} he sent, a bit quickly. I gasped as the energy signature flared, leaving a sharp metallic taste in my mouth.  
>"Doctor!" Roes said urgently. The Doctor hurried over to her. Rose hurriedly stood up.<br>The Doctor backed off from the box, and I collapsed.

"Whoa! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" he said, not noticing Shadow.  
>He waved the smell away and picked up the empty cardboard box.<br>"Iron residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" he said. He turned the box around, impressed. "Just to snatch a living organism out of space/time. This baby is just like, I'm 'avin' some of that" - I'm impressed," he said.  
>"So the cat's been transported?" Rose asked.<br>"Whatever it is, it can harness huge reserves of ionic power. Shadow, could you-" he stopped. {Shadow?} he prodded.  
>"What is it?" Rose asked.<br>"She's out cold,and I have no idea where," he said, looking around.  
>"Out cold? Why?" Rose asked. He was down on the ground, trying to find her.<br>"Sensory overload most likely. She's more sensitive to large amounts of energy than you or me, internal scanners," he said, standing and scratching his head. "I can't find her," he said.  
>"You don't think she's been taken?" Rose asked. He shook his head. "No, she's here, I can feel her through the link." He cursed. "I told her to turn that Perception Filter off."<p>

I opened my eyes, and sat up, clutching my head. Rose and the Doctor were both on the ground, groping around like they's lost somthing.  
>{What are you doing?} I asked.<br>He stood abruptly, and Rose looked at him.  
>"Did you find her?" she asked.<br>"She's concious, she's communicating with me," he said.  
>{Shadow, turn that Filter off,} he sent.<br>I complied, and Rose sighed in relief, standing and brushing off her pants.  
>"Well, now that we're all concious, and visible, we need to find the source of that power," he said. "Find the source and you will find... whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see," he said. He whacked Rose on the shoulder, gesturing to his eyes. "Keep 'em peeled, Lewis," he said. Rose nodded and walked in the opposite direction as me and the Doctor.<br>{Could you scan for the source of the energy without knocking yourself out?} he sent. {Maybe if you tuned down your scanners a bit?}  
>{No, I would still be rendered unconcious,} I sent.<br>{Ah, well, just a thought,} he sent.  
>{We should leave now Doctor. I don't like this at all,} I sent.<br>{We're no leaving until-}  
>He stopped as we heard Rose scream. He turned, and ran back in her direction. He turned the corner sharply, and ran towards Rose, who lying on the ground with what looked like a mess of wires hovering over her menacingly.<br>"Stay still!" the Doctor yelled.  
>He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the thing, and it convulsed, collapsing into a small ball which fell into Rose's outstretched hands. The Doctor rushed to Rose.<br>"Okey dokey?" he asked.  
>He held out his hands and pulled her to her feet.<br>"Yeah, cheers," she said, sounding slightly out of breath.  
>"No probs," the Docor said, hugging her. He let her go, returning his attention to the object in Rose's hand.<br>"I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is," he said. Poking it with the sonic screwdriver. "'Cos I haven't got the foggiest."  
>"Well, I can tell you you've just killed it," Rose said.<br>I took it from her hand and looked at it, scanning on a low setting. I dropped the thing and backed up. The Doctor caught it before it could hit the ground.  
>"It was never living," I said. "It was animated by ionic energy. The same energy that's snatching people."<br>The Doctor threw it up and down, looking quite delighted. "That is so dinky! The Go-Anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket... makes friends, impresses the boss... breaks the ice at parties," he said. He held it out to me. "Could you figure out what it's made of?" he asked. I shook my head.  
>"It would be better to go back to the Tardis, and use the scanners on board," I said. He nodded, pocketing the thing and turning to walk back to the Tardis.<p>

The Doctor put the object on the Tardis console for analysing.  
>"Oh - hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look," he said.<br>We watched the computer screen, which was displaying Gallifreyan symbols.  
>"Get out of here," the Doctor said.<br>{Graphite?} I sent.  
>{Just let me check,} he sent back, taking a pencil out of one of his pockets.<br>"What's it say?" Rose asked.  
>He rubbed a bit on the object with the eraser at the end of the pencil, rubbibg part of the object out of existence.<br>"It is!" he said, blowing on it. "It's graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil," he said to Rose.  
>"I was attacked by a... pencil scribble?" Rose asked.<br>"Scribble creature," he said. He sniffed it, then let Rose sniff it. "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But... why make a scribble creature?" he asked.  
>"Maybe it was a mistake... I mean, you scribble over something when you wanna get rid of it. Like a um... like a drawing. Like a... a child's drawing," Rose said with a look of realization. The Doctor glanced at her. "You said it was in the street."<br>"Probably..." he said.  
>"The girl," Rose said.<br>"Of COURSE! ... What girl?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Something about her gave me the creeps... even her own mum looked scared of her. And we were in front of her house when T- Shadow passed out," Rose said.<br>"Are you deducting?" the Doctor asked, leaning in.  
>Rose gave him a conspiratorial look. "I think I am," she said.<br>"Copper's hunch?" he asked.  
>"Permission to follow it up, sarge," she said. He nodded, and the two of them trooped out of the Tardis, and I followed.<p>

The Doctor rung the doorbell. There was no answer for a few minutes. He knocked on the letterbox, and the door opened. One of the women from the street was standing inside. I guessed she was the mother of the girl we wanted to see.  
>"Hello! I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. Can we see your daughter?" he asked.<br>"No! You can't," she said sharply.  
>"Okay! Bye," he said. We started to walk away.<br>"Why?" the woman asked. We turned back to her.  
>"Why do you want to see Chloe?" she asked.<br>"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought - well, we thought - that she might like to give us a hand," the Doctor said.  
>"Sorry to bother you," Rose said.<br>"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!" he said We turned and walked away again.  
>"Wait!" the woman yelled.<br>We turned again. The expression on her face was helpless, vulnerable.  
>"Can you help her?" she asked. The Doctor smiled.<br>"Yes, I can," he said.  
>"What's your name then?" the Doctor asked as we walked into the house.<br>"Trish," she said, guiding us into a sitting area. Rose sat on the sofa while the Doctor flung his coat down next to her.  
>"She stays in her room, most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone," the woman said. I stood next to a wall, and tried to be unnoticed, which was hard to do without an active Shadow Device. But my Doctor was afraid of me passing out and him not being able to locate me. So I left it off.<br>"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.  
>"Chloe's dad died a year ago," Trish replied.<br>"I'm sorry," Rose said "You wouldn't be if you'd known him," trish said.  
>"Well! Let's go and say hi!" the Doctor said brightly.<br>"I should check on her first... she might be asleep," Trish said nervously.  
>"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" the Doctor asked.<br>"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid," Trish said.  
>"I'm sure she is," the Doctor said.<br>"She's never been in trouble at school... you should see her report from last year. As and Bs," she said. I stood against the wall, feeling useless.  
>She smiled at Rose, proud. Rose smiled back.<br>I had an idea, and discreetly activated my Shadow Device, moving up the stairs, into a hall, leaving the Doctor and Rose behind to talk to Trish.  
>{Shadow what are you doing?} the Doctor sent, having noticed my absence.<br>{Just looking around,} I sent back.  
>{Why?} he sent, sounding curious, and- was he hopefull?<br>{The sooner we find out what's going on here, the sooner we can get out,} I sent.  
>{Oh,} he sent.<br>I was outside of the door to Chloe's room now. A shadow blocked the light coming from under the door, and I pressed myself against the wall quickly. A girl, Chloe, emerged from the room. She walked down the stairs, and out of sight. I stepped forward, and pushed the door open, looking inside. There were hundreds of drawings covering the walls. I walked in, looking around. The closet doors rattled. I breathed in, and backed out of the room, coughing. There was a lot of energy in that room. I turned my scanners off entirely, and stopped breathing, turning on the Oxygen Filter. I was relying on my auditory and, visual and aural senses entirely. I stepped back into the room. The closet doors rattled again. I looked around the room, and then back at the closet. I walked forward and opened it. A wind rustled through the clothes. I parted them to see the back of the closet, and a red light flooded the closet. On the back of the wardrobe, there was a huge picture of a bearded man whose face was contorted with rage. The red light was coming from his glowing red eyes.  
>"I'm coming..." it growled. I stared at it, unable to look away. This was something that was bad, something that simply shoud not be. It was wrong, and it radiated evil, and just the sense of wrongness. I couldn't move, just stared at it as it whispered to me. I tapped my link with the Doctor instead.<br>{Doctor!} I sent.  
>I felt his head explode in pain as he felt what I was feeling. {Ahh! Tei, what is that?} he sent.<br>{I don't know,} I sent. I paused. {What did you call me?} I asked.  
>{Nothing,} he said, running up the stairs.<br>"I'm coming to hurt you..." it said, as the Doctor burst into the room. He slammed the closet doors shut without so much as a glance at the inside.  
>{Don't look at it,} I said, turning my Shadow Device off. I wasn't breathing because of the energy in the air, so I couldn't talk out loud.<br>"Course not," he said. He walked away to examine the drawings on the wall, putting his glasses on.  
>"What the hell was that?" Trish asked.<br>"A drawing. The face of a man," the Doctor voiced my thought.  
>"What face?" Trish said. She tried to open the doors, but I pressed myself up against them, looking at her warningly.<br>"Best not," the Doctor told her for me.  
>"What've you been drawing?" Trish asked Chloe.<br>"I'm drew him yesterday," Chloe said.  
>"Who?" Trish asked.<br>"Dad," she said simply.  
>Trish looked unpleasantly surprised and upset. "Your dad? But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world - why him?" she asked.<br>"I dream about him, staring at me," Chloe said.  
>"I thought we were putting him behind us. What's the matter with you?" Trish asked.<br>"We need to stay together," Chloe said.  
>"Yes, we do," Trish said.<br>"No. Not you. Us," Chloe said. "We need to stay together. And then it'll be all right,' Chloe said.  
>Trish went over to her, putting her hands on her daughter's cheeks. Chloe flinched.<br>"Trish, the drawings - have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?" Rose asked.  
>"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" she yelled at me. "Get out of my house!" she said.<br>"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe," the Doctor said.  
>"I don't wanna hear any more of this," Trish said.<br>"Shadow heard that picture of her father speak," the Doctor said on my behalf.  
>"He's dead. And these - they're kids pictures. Now get out!" Trish said.<br>"Chloe has a power. And I don't know how, but she used it to take Danny Edwards. Dale Hicks - she's using it to snatch the kids," Rose said.  
>"Get out," Trish insisted.<br>"Have you seen those drawings move?" Rose asked.  
>"I haven't seen anything," Trish said.<br>"Yes you have. Out of the corner of your eye," the Doctor said Trish turned to him. "No," she said.  
>"And you dismissed it, because what choice do you have when you see something you can't possibly explain?" he moved over to her. "You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever ag-"<br>"She's a child-" Trish started.  
>"And you're terrified of her," the Doctor said. "But there's no one to turn to, because who's gonna believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except me." "Who are you?" Trish asked.<br>"I'm help," he said.  
>We walked out of the room, and I breathed again, though I left my scanners off. We walked into the kitchen. The Doctor swiped a jar of marmalade off the worktop, unscrewed the lid, dipped his fingers into it and started sucking the jam off. Rose cleared her throat. He paused, and Rose shook her head at him, mouthing 'no'. The Doctor, with an odd look somewhere between guilt and embarrassment, glanced at Trish who was just staring at him. He meekly replaced the lid and pushed the jar behind him.<br>"Those pictures - they're alive. She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures," Rose said.  
>"Ionic energy. She's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding-pen made up of ionic power," the Doctor said.<br>"And what about the thing- her father- in the closet?" I asked.  
>"How many times do I have to tell you? He's dead," Trish said.<br>"Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead man," I said.  
>"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things," the Doctor said thoughtfully.<br>He suddenly shivered violently, making Rose jump. I did not think that the thought of the closet person walking around was a very nice thought at all. This would explain why he felt wrong and just plain evil though. If Chloe had based the drawing on her memories of him, and he was really as bad as Trish was making out, then to a child, he would seem like a demon. So Chloe had drawn just that. A demon, something to her which represented everything wrong with the world. What she percieved as the source of all her troubles and pain.  
>"Chloe's real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world," he said, voicing my thoughts.<br>"She always got the worst of it when he was alive," Trish said.  
>"Doctor, how can a twelve-year-old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked.<br>"Let's find out," he said. He headed for the stairs, and we followed him, into Chloe's room. I stopped breathing again, turning on the Oxygen Filter.  
>Chloe was sitting cross-legged on the bed. The Doctor stood before her, looking down at her. She said nothing, but made a sign with her fingers.<br>"Nice one," the Doctor said. He knelt in front of her, holding her head in his hands, fingers on her temples. Her eyes rolled in her head for a moment before closing. He closed his own eyes, and I felt him touch her mind through our link. Chloe fell backwards onto the bed.  
>"There we go," he said, withdrawing.<br>Trish moved towards them in concern. "I can't let him do this-"  
>"Shh, it's okay. Trust him," Rose said.<br>The Doctor straightened up.  
>"Now we can talk," he said to Chloe.<br>When Chloe spoke, her voice came out as a strange whisper, obviously not her own.  
>"I want Chloe," it said. "Wake her up. I want Chloe."<br>"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I want Chloe Webber!" it said passionately.<br>"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish said.  
>"Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor walked slowly around the bed, all the while looking down at Chloe.  
>"I'm speaking to you. The entity that is using this human child. I request parlez in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation," he said. I fidgeted a bit. I didn't know why, but that made me uncomfortable.<br>"I don't care about shadows or parlez," it said.  
>"So what do you care about?" the Doctor asked.<br>"I want my friends," it said.  
>The Doctor knelt by the side of the bed. "You're lonely, I know. Identify yourself," he said.<br>"I am one of many. I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair. And I hate it!" it said, Chloe's eyes snapping open.  
>"Name yourself!" the Doctor said.<br>"Isolus,"it said.  
>"You're Isolus. Of course," he said, as if this explained everything.<br>"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," it said, drawing rapidly on a piece of paper next to her on the bed while speaking.  
>Trish looked at the drawing. "What's that?" she asked as the drawing began to take shape.<br>"The Isolus Mother, drifting in Deep Space," the Doctor said, standing. "See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone," he said.  
>"Our journey is long," it said.<br>"The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up," the Doctor said.  
>"Thousands of years just floating through space... poor things - don't they go mad with boredom?" Rose asked.<br>"We play," it said.  
>"You... play?" Rose asked.<br>The Doctor sat down on the bed. "Mm. While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play," he said.  
>"In-flight entertainment," Rose said.<br>"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each others love. Without it, they're lost," he said. "Why did you come to Earth?" he asked the Isolus.  
>"We were too close," it said, ripping the piece of paper she is drawing on off the pad and starting anew.<br>The Doctor looked at the drawing.  
>"That's a solar flare from your sun," he said to Rose. "Would've made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."<br>"Only I fell to Earth. My brothers and sisters are left up there. And I cannot reach them. So alone," she said. I twitched. Alone? And lost. Confused, and so, so sad. Where was this coming from?  
>"Your pod crashed... where is it?" he asked.<br>"My pod was drawn to heat..." it said. "And I was drawn to Chloe Webber. She was like me. Alone. She needed me. And I her." I shivered, colder than I should have been.  
>The Doctor stroked Chloe's head.<br>"You empathised with her. You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you," he said.  
>"I want my family. It's not fair," it said.<br>Rose and Trish watched, obviously affected. And I felt odd too. I couldn't describe it. A familiar feeling.  
>"I understand. You wanna make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself," the Doctor said.<br>"I am alone," it said.  
>There was another thump from the closet. Trish gasped.<br>"I'm coming to hurt you," came the growling voice from the closet.  
>Chloe started to shake and tremble in fear, although her face remained impassive. There was a pounding on the door of the closet.<br>"I'm coming..."  
>"Trish, how do you calm her?" the Doctor asked urgently.<br>Chloe's body was jerking like she was having a seizure.  
>"What?" Trish asked, panicking.<br>"When she has nightmares, what do you do?" he asked.  
>"I... I..." she stuttered, glancing nervously at the closet.<br>"What do you do?" the Doctor demanded.  
>"I sing to her," Trish said.<br>"Then start singing," he said, motioning for Trish to come over. Trish took his place next to Chloe.  
>"Chloe... I'm coming," the voice said. I felt the Doctor's headache through our link. His job was to make sure that things were right in the universe, and that thing in the closet was very, very wrong. It simply should not be.<br>"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merry merry king of the bush is he..." Trish sang shakily.  
>"Chloe... Chloe..."<br>The banging and thumping on the door continued. The Doctor and Rose both looked over at it, the Doctor wincing slightly, while Trish stroked Chloe's hair, trying to sooth her.  
>"Chloe... Chloe..." the voice continued. His headache was leaking through our link, and my head was pounding.<br>"Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be..."  
>The banging and the voice eventually faded.<br>"Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be," Trish finised the song. Chloe was sleeping soundly now.  
>"He came to her because she was lonely... Chloe, I'm sorry," she said. She buried her head in her little girl's shoulder, arms around her, sobbing.<p>

We were in the living room. We had confiscated all of the pencils, pens, paintbrushes and forks(?) that Chloe had been using in her artistic endeavors.  
>"Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper. When he'd had a drink. The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over," Trish said.<br>"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked.  
>"I didn't want to," Trish said.<br>Rose sat down.  
>"But... maybe that's why Chloe feels so alone. 'Cos she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can't talk to you about them," Rose said.<br>"Her an the Isolus... two lonely kids who need each other," the Doctor said.  
>"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in," Rose said.<br>"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family," he said.  
>"How big?" Rose asked.<br>"Isolus typically travel around in groups of around four billion," I put in. The Doctor nodded in approval, and Rose and Trish just looked stunned. The Doctor picked up his coat, and put it on.  
>"We need that pod," he said.<br>"It crashed - won't it be destroyed?" Rose said as we walked out of the house.  
>"Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can... hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch," the Doctor said. Chloe was watching us through her bedroom window. I looked up and shivered.<p>

The Doctor was fumbling with some device, putting it together. Rose sat in the chair next to the console.  
>"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" she asked.<br>The Doctor shoved Rose off the chair and sat down on it himself.  
>"I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own. Give me the stina magnetic erm..." he nodded towards it violently. "The thing in your left hand!" he said.<br>Rose glanced at him, chewing on gum absent-mindedly.  
>"Sounds like you're on its side," Rose said.<br>Rose slotted the 'thing in her left hand' into the device while the Doctor held it still between his legs.  
>"I sympathise, that's all," he said.<br>"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people," Rose said.  
>"It's a child!" he blew on the device. "That's why it went to Chloe, two lonely mixed up kids."<br>He blew on it again, examining it.  
>"Hmm... feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way," Rose said.<br>"It's scared! Come on, you were a kid once. Binary dot," the Doctor said.  
>Rose handed him the binary dot. "Yes! And I know what kids can be like. Right little... terrors," she said.<br>He held his hand out under Rose's mouth. "Gum."  
>Rose spat her gum out into his hand.<br>"I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family," he said.  
>The Doctor stuck the gum to the device, securing it.<br>"What about trying to understand them?" he said.  
>"Easy for you to say. You don't have kids," she retorted.<br>"I was a dad once," he said off-handedly.  
>"What did you say?" Rose said, looking shocked.<br>The Doctor didn't seem to notice the effect his words had on Rose. He didn't reply.  
>"I think we're there!" he stood, and went over to the console. "Fear. Loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy," he said. I twitched nervously. Something was not right. I turned on my scanners, and didn't get anything, so I dropped the feeling.<br>Rose was still reeling from the bombshell he'd just dropped, but he was carrying on, oblivious, pulling levers and pressing buttons on the console.  
>"There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe," he said. "Warp drive... wormhole refractors..."<br>Rose held her hand out.  
>"You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold," he said. He noticed Rose's outstretched hand and took it, grinning.<br>"No! Look, I'm pointing," she said.  
>She laughed. The Doctor looked at the computer screen where she was pointing - a flashing white light on a map of the neighbourhood indicating the whereabouts of the pod.<br>"It's the pod! It is in the street! Everything's coming up Doctor!" he said excitedly.  
>He scooted off towards the doors, and I followed immediately. Rose followed after a moment, still slightly distracted.<br>The Doctor shut the door after us, and started walking. I stopped, my sensors buzzing. Ionic energy. What was going on now?  
>"Okay. It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gulls egg. Very light," the Doctor said.<br>So these pods - they travel from sun to sun us-"  
>I screamed in pain, drowning out the rest of her sentance as ionic energy flared around us. I collapsed.<p>

"Doctor?" Rose said. The TARDIS and the Doctor were both gone. Shadow was unconcious on the ground.  
>She ran over to Shadow, slapping her cheeks. "Shadow, wake up, come on!" She yelled. Her eyes popped open, and she sprang to her feet, yelling in a different langauge. Rose couldn't understand what she was saying, and it hit her that the Tardis was gone. The Doctor was gone.<p>

I ran down the street, not caring if Rose was following me or not. I didn't bother knocking in the Webber's door. I flung it out of the way, and ran up the stairs, Trish yelling after me. I opened Chloe's door, and ran over to her.  
>"WHAT DID YOU DO?" I shrieked at her, and then looked down, to see a pencil sketch. Of the Doctor, and the Tardis. I stared in shock for a few seconds, before realizing my error. My scanners were set on maximum, and I was breathing hard. The amount of ionic energy in the room hit me, and I blacked out.<p>

{Shadow,} something whispered. I stirred a bit. {Shadow,} it said more urgently. My eyes popped open, and I almost passed straight out again. {Turn off your sensors,} the Doctor sent. I complied, and it immediately got better.  
>I stopped breathing, and stood shakily, walking over ot the desk. The picture of the Doctor and the Tardis was gone, and I felt the first flutterings of panic in my chest.<br>{I'm on the bed,} he sent.  
>I turned, and cried out on relief as I spotted the picture.<br>{Doctor!} I said.  
>{We need to get to Rose,} he said. I turned, noticing Chloe for the first time. She was drawing on the wall, and I recognized what she was drawing. It was the planet. The closet doors rattled, the voice coming from within.<br>I ran out of Chloe' bedroom. Trish was sitting on the couch in the living room.  
>"Where's Rose?" I asked. Trish stared at me.<br>{Shadow, you're speaking Galva Neertan,} the Doctor said.  
>"Oh," I said. "Where's Rose?" I asked in english.<br>"She just ran out. I don't know where she was going," Trish said.  
>I ran out the doors, to see Rose, sitting on the front step in despair.<br>{Does she have the pod?} the Doctor asked.  
>"Did you find the pod?" I asked her urgently.<br>She nodded.  
>{She has if Doctor,} I sent.<br>{Take the pod,} he instructed.  
>"Rose, I need the pod," I said.<br>"What-" she started.  
>"JUST GIVE IT TO ME!" I yelled.<br>She handed the pod over, and I started running, pod in one hand, the picture of the Doctor and the Tardis in the other. I turned down a street, running madly as the Doctor told me what to do. I activated my Shadow Device, and slowed, pressing through crowds of people to try and reach the torch-bearer. I ran alongside him, and reached my hand over, dropping the Isolus pod into the torch. I slowed, melting back into the crowd, and watching the torch disappear around the corner.  
>{Doctor, will it let you go now?} I sent. There was no reply. {Doctor?} I glanced down at the picture. The paper was blank, no Tardis, and no Doctor. {DOCTOR?} I screamed throught the link.<br>{OW! Shadow, I'm here, you don't need to scream,} he sent.  
>{I couldn't feel you,} I sent back.<br>{The ionic energy was interfering with the link. It was just for a moment.}  
>{Where are you Doctor?} I asked.<br>{Back by where we parked the Tardis. It dropped me back into reality at the exact same location it snatched me from.} There was a pause. {Do you know where Rose is?} he asked.  
>{I think she's back a the Webber's house,} I sent, running throught the streets. I turned a corner, and saw him there. I walked up, standing behind him. As I always would.<p> 


	13. Army Of Ghosts

"Mum, it's us! We're ba-ack!" Rose sang out as we entered her flat.  
>Jackie appeared from around the corner, a grin plastered on her face. "Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone! You never use it!" she said. I turned my Shadow Device on, wary of possesive mothers. They were number twenty-eight on the list of immediate threats to my Doctor's health(Although I did not think that Jackie would fatally harm my Doctor).<br>"Shut up, come here!" Rose said, throwing her arms around Jackie.  
>"Oh, I love you!" Jackie said.<br>"I love you!" Rose said.  
>I slipped past them.<br>"I love you so MUCH!" Jackie said.  
>The Doctor squeezed past them, following my example, and tried to sidle off, but Jackie spotted him.<br>"Oh no you don't. Come here!" Jackie said, grabbing him. She pulled him towards her and planted a kiss on him, despite his weak protests.  
>{Doctor, something is not right,} I sent.<br>{How about this imminent threat to my life?} he asked, reffering to Jackie attentions.  
>{Over-affectionate mothers are on the list of possible dangers, but at the moment, you are not being harmed,} I sent.<br>"Oh, you lovely big fella! Oh, you're all mine!" Jackie said.  
>"Just- just- just put me down!" he stuttered.<br>"Yes, you are!" she said. She kissed him again and then walked off, leaving him to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, before going to join Rose in the sitting room. Rose took off her backpack and dumped it in Jackie's arms.  
>"I've got LOADS of washing for ya! And - I got you this!" she said.<br>She showed Jackie an tiny ornate bottle with a wide grin. "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of um..." She turned to the Doctor, who was flicking through some magazines lying on the table. "What's it called?" she asked.  
>"Bezoolium," he said distractedly. I sniffed. There it was again, that same odd smell. Like burnt lasagna.<br>{Doctor?} I sent. He ignored me, engrossed in the magazine.  
>"Bezoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it's gonna rain - when it's hot, it's gonna be sunny! You can use it to tell the weather!" Rose said delightedly.<br>"I've got a surprise for you and all," Jackie said.  
>"Oh, I get her bezoolum - she doesn't even say 'thanks'," Rose said.<br>"Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time - he'll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?" Jackie said.  
>"I don't know," Rose said.<br>"Oh go on, guess!" Jackie said.  
>"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me," Rose said.<br>"It's your grandad. Grandad Prentice. He's on his way. Any minute!" she said, sounding pleased.  
>Rose stared.<br>"Right, cup of tea!" Jackie said.  
>She disappeared into the kitchen. Rose stared after her. The Doctor put the magazine down, and walked over to her. {Doctor,} I prodded.<br>{Not now Shadow,} he said.  
>"She's gone mad," Rose said.<br>"Tell me something new," the Doctor said.  
>"Grandad Prentice - that's her dad. But he died like, ten years ago. Oh my God. She's lost it. Mum? What you just said about grandad..."<br>"Any second now," Jackie said.  
>"But... he passed away. His heart gave out. Do you remember that?" Rose said gently.<br>"Course I do!" Jackie said lightly.  
>"Then how can he come back?" Rose asked.<br>"Why don't you ask him yourself?" she said, checking her watch. "Ten past. Here he comes," she said.  
>The smell grew stronger, and my internal scanners went nuts. A figure stepped out of nowhere in the middle of kitchen. It was featureless, like a silver shadow, but definitely humanoid. It stood beside Jackie.<br>"Here we are, then!" she said.  
>{Doctor, as I tried to tell you before, something is not right,} I sent.<br>The Doctor and Rose just stared at the 'ghost', dumbstruck.  
>"Dad... say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?" Jackie said.<br>The Doctor spun around on his heel, running out the door, and down the stairs, into the courtyard outside.  
>"They're everywhere!" he yelled confusedly outside, upon seeing more of the things.<br>"Doctor, look out!" I yelled. A ghost walked right through the Doctor, causing a cold, wet feeling that I could feel through our link, but no pain.  
>"They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade," Jackie said, joining us.<br>"What do you mean, SHIFT? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?" Jackie said.<br>{Can you smell burnt lasagna?} I asked.  
>{No,} he replied. "But no one's running or screaming or freaking out or-" he said aloud.<br>"Why should we?" Jakcie asked. She checked her watch. "Here we go. Twelve minutes past," she said.  
>Jackie smiled at Rose, biting her lip with antipation.<br>The ghosts disappeared. The Doctor glanced around, looking even more confused than he did before. We headed back in to Jackie's flat.

The Doctor was sitting on the floor in front of Jackie's television. Jackie was sitting on the sofa, Rose was perched on the arm, and I was sitting behind the Doctor, trying to convince him to get in the Tardis, and GO. He was ignoring me, and had blocked our link, in favor of watching a programme called 'Ghostwatch'.  
>"On today's Ghostwatch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge," the newsman said. It showed footage of the ghosts milling around Westminster Bridge. "It's almost like a military display," the man continued.<br>The Doctor's brow furrowed. "What the hell's going on?" he said.  
>He changed the channel to what would appear to be a weather report. But instead of weather symbols, there were little pictures of ghosts on the map of the UK.<br>"And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts. From London, through the North and up into Scotland," the weatherman said.

He changed to a different programme. The caption at the bottom of the screen proclaimed "I married a dead man!"  
>"So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, that you are in love with a ghost," a woman said.<br>Eileen was sitting in front of the studio audience with a ghost hovering around by the other chair.  
>"He's MY ghost and I love him, 247!" she said.  
>There was an encouraging round of applause from the audience. He changed the channel.<br>"Well, no one needs me anymore!" someone said. He changed the channel. This time, there was a cheesy advertisement- a housewife in a flowery apron addressing the camera in her kitchen while a sad-looking animated ghost hovered around above the worktop.  
>"My ghost was pale and grey until I discovered... Ectoshine!" she said.<br>With an expression of complete bewilderment, the Doctor changed the channel again. Now we were on a French news channel.  
>"Et le President d'aujourd'hui, quelle est-" the man was saying. We saw footage of ghosts wandering around the Eiffel Tower. He switched the channel- an Indian news report. Ghosts were milling around the Taj Mahal. He changed to an enthusiastic Japanese Newsreader. The Doctor put his head in his hands.<br>"Oh, yes!" Jackie said.  
>He changed the channel again. "It's all over the world," he said. This time it was woman, standing behind a couter, yelling at a ghost.<br>"Listen to me, Denn Watts. I don't care if you HAVE come back from the grave. Get out of my pub! The only spirits I'm serving in this place are gin, whisky and vodka. So, you heard me - GET OUT!" she said.  
>The Doctor switched off the TV and turned to Jackie. "When did it start?" he asked.<br>"Well first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down-"  
>"No, I mean worldwide," he said.<br>Rose smirked.  
>"Oh! That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were - ghosts, everywhere. We all ran round screaming and that, whole planet was panicking... no sign of YOU, thank you very much... then it sort of sank in. Took us time to realise that... we're lucky," Jackie said.<br>"What makes you think it's grandad?" Rose asked.  
>"Just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?" Jackie asked.<br>"I wish I could, mum, but I can't," Rose said gently.  
>"You've got to make an effort. You've got to WANT it, sweetheart," Jackie said.<br>"The more you want it, the stronger it gets?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Sort of, yeah," Jackie said.<br>"Like a psychic link. Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in," the Doctor said.  
>"You're spoiling it," Jackie said.<br>"I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory," he said.  
>"But if they're not ghosts, what are they, then?" Rose asked.<br>"Yeah, but they're human! You can see them - they LOOK human!" Jackie said.  
>"She's got a point. I mean, they're all sort of blurred, but they're definitely people," Rose said.<br>"Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot," the Doctor said thoughtfully. He stood, and started out the door.  
>"Rose, come on!" he said. I lurched after him as Rose and Jackie followed him.<p>

The Doctor was wedged under the console. Rose strode in, holding a newspaper.  
>"According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds," she said, peering down at him. I sat off in the corner glumly. "Now don't tell me you're gonna sit back and do nothing," she said.<br>The Doctor suddenly popped up from underneath the grilling, bopping insanely, holding an odd looking device in one hand and wearing a rucksack. "Who're you gonna call?" he asked in a deep voice.  
>"Ghostbusters!" Rose said delightedly.<br>"I ain't afraid of no ghosts," he said, giving a little kick.  
>He left the Tardis, and Rose followed him, giggling. I stayed inside.<br>{Are you moping?} the Doctor asked.  
>{Maybe,} I said. {I am angry with you at the moment, and I am trying to uncover the source of this emotion, and what it means exactly.}<br>{Good luck,} he said sincerely.  
>After a few minutes, Jackie, Rose and the Doctor came back in.<br>He plugged something into the console. "As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop," he brandished the sonic screwdriver under Rose's nose, who went cross-eyed trying to focus on it. "Setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop."  
>"15B, eight seconds," Rose repeated.<br>"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left," he said.  
>"Hang on a minute, I know..." she leaned over the console, pointing out a button. "It's that one," she said.<br>"Mm, close," he said.  
>Rsoe pointed to another. "That one?" she asked.<br>"Nnnnow you've just killed us," the Doctor said.  
>Rose giggled. Neither of them noticed the way Jackie was looking at them. I did.<br>"Eh... that one," she said.  
>"Yeah! Now, what've we got? Two minutes to go?" he asked, looking over at Jackie, who checked her watch. She nodded, and he ran out the door. I stayed in.<br>{Not coming?} he sent.  
>{There is no immediate need,} I said.<br>{Not angry anymore?} he asked, sounding disapointed.  
>{No, I have no idea what would have set that off. It's gone now,} I sent.<br>{Ah, well , anger's no good anyway,} he sent.  
>Rose plunged the sonic screwdriver into a port on the console.<br>"What's the line doing?" the Doctor yelled at her.  
>"It's all right, it's holding!" Rose yelled back.<br>"You even look like him?" Jackie said.  
>"How d'you mean?" Rose asked. Then she smiled. "I s'pose I do, yeah," she said.<br>"You've changed so much," Jackie said.  
>"For the better," Rose said.<br>"I s'pose," Jackie whispered.  
>Rose turned to her. "Mum, I used to work in a SHOP," she said.<br>"I've worked in shops. What's wrong with that?" Jackie said defensively.  
>"No, I didn't mean that," Rose said.<br>"I know what you meant. What happens when I'm gone?" Jackie asked.  
>"Don't talk like that!" Rose said, shocked.<br>"No, but really. When I'm dead and buried, you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?" Jackie said seriously.  
>"I don't know," Rose said quietly.<br>"Do you think you'll ever settle down?" Jackie asked.  
>"The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling," Rose said.<br>"And you'll keep on changing. And in forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman - this strange woman... walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. She's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human," Jackie said.  
>"Is the scanner working?" the Doctor yelled, breaking the moment.<br>"The scanner's working - it says "delta one six"," Rose yelled back.  
>I got up, in case Rose and Jackie had any more private moments, and walked out by the Doctor. He was standing, facing the centre of the triangle.<br>"Come on you beauty!" he said. He cackled, positively jiggling with anticipation. As we watched the triangle, a ghost materialised in its centre. As it did so, the cones were connected with blue electricity, which in turn connects over the top of the ghost, encompassing it in a kind of electric blue pyramid. The Doctor put on a pair of 3D glasses and watched the ghost. {What are those supposed to do?} I sent.  
>{Shhh,} he sent back absent-midedly. He bent down and adjusted a setting on his equipment. A green light blipped. The Doctor continued to adjust the knob. The ghost shuddered and groaned. The Doctor laughed.<br>"Don't like that much, do you?" he said. "Who are you? Where are you coming from? WHOA!" he yelled as he stumbled backwards, havig received an electric shock from the ghost.  
>"That's more like it! Not so friendly NOW, are you?" he said triumphantly.<br>The ghost continued to shudder and jerk within the Doctor's triangle. Then it disappeared. The Doctor immediately darted forward and began gathering up his equipment.  
>{Shadow, grab that,} he said, pointing to a piece of the equipment. I picked it up, and ran into the Tardis after him. The Doctor dumped the equipment by the door, and dashed to the railing, throwing his coat over it.<br>"I said so! Those ghosts have been FORCED into existence for one specific point! And I can track down the source. Allons-Y!" he said excitedly. He pulled down a lever. The Tardis shuddered and he and Rose fell backwards onto the chair. The rotor rose and fell. The Doctor sprang up, twiddling knobs on the console, nattering away to himself.  
>"I like that. 'Allons-y'. I should say 'allons-y' more often. 'Allons-y'. Watch out, Rose Tyler! Allons-y! And THEN, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Allonzo. Because then I could say, 'allons-y, Allonzo'! Every time! You're staring at me," he said.<br>Rose had been listening to the Doctor rattle off with a strange smile on her face. "My mum's still on board," Rose said quietly.  
>Jackie was sitting up in the gantries, legs dangling. "If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you," she said, folding her arms over her chest. The Doctor stared at her, horrified. Rose smirked.<br>We rematerialized, and the monitor beeped. We looked at it, to see Soldiers bursting in through sme doors outside, holding guns, shouting and getting into their positions. "Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie," he said to Rose.  
>{You can't go out there!} I sent.<br>{Why not?} he sent back. He made towards the doors. I turned on my Shadow Device, and followed.  
>{Because military personel with guns are number thirty-six on the list of potential dangers,} I sent.<br>{Thirty-six? How long is your list?} he asked.  
>{Long,} I sent back.<br>"I'm not looking after my mum!" Rose protested.  
>"Well, you brought her!" the Doctor said.<br>"I was kidnapped!" Jackie said indignantly. Rose pushed past the Doctor and blocked the doorway so he couldn't get past. "Doctor, they've got guns," she said.  
>{See, Rose agrees with me,} I sent triumphantly, thinking I had won.<br>"And I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think?" he said. He caught her round the waist and moved her smoothly out of the way. "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high-ground is mine," he said, and I sighed in defeat, following him out of the Tardis.  
>The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, raising his hands. The soldiers released the safety catches on their guns, every single one pointed at the Doctor. I put my hand on his shoulder, ready to teleport us out of here. A woman hurried into the room, running towards the Doctor.<br>"Oh...! Oh, how marvellous," she said excitedly. She clapped. "Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day!"  
>The soldiers followed suit, applauding the Doctor. The Doctor didn't quite know what to make of this reception. He lowered his hands tentatively, and I took my hand off his shoulder. The gund had been lowered, and there appeared to be no immediate danger.<br>"Um. Thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm... the Doctor," he said. This set them all off clapping again. "Oh, I should say! Hurray!" the woman said.  
>"You... you've heard of me, then?" he asked.<br>"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would BE here. The Doctor AND the Tardis..." she started the applause again. The Doctor, clearly enjoying this just a little bit, gestured for silence.  
>{Ham,} I said accusingly.<br>{Am not,} he shot back.  
>"And... and... and you are?" he said.<br>"Yvonne Hartman, but there's plenty of time for that. According to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern isn't it, right? The Doctor stared at her. "There's no point hiding anything. Not from us," Yvonne said. She smiled. "So where is she?" she asked. She gestured towards me. "And you can tell the Artificial Life Form to turn off the Perception Filter, we can see her," she said.  
>"Yes! Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all," he said. I turned off my Shadow Device. The Doctor opened the Tardis door just a tiny bit, and pulled out Jackie.<br>"But here she is: Rose Tyler," he said.  
>{You got the wrong one,} I sent him.<br>{I know,} he sent back, and I realized what he'd done.  
>{Oh, clever,} I sent appreciatively.<br>{I know, right?} he sent.  
>"Hmm. She's NOT the best I've ever had," he said aloud. "Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that."<br>Jackie glared at him. Yvonne laughed. "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years. But she'll do," he said.  
>"I'm 40!" she said passionately.<br>"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well. I say not bad... anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle's going," he said.  
>{This is a dangerous game Doctor,} I warned him.<br>{What's the worst their gonna do if they find out?} he sent.  
>{No, with Jackie. Insulted human females are number two on the list,} I sent.<br>{Angry human females are ranked before men with guns?} he asked.  
>{Yes,} I sent back. {Well, I guess I can't say they are less dangerous,} he sent thoughtfully.<br>Yvonne turned to lead the way. The Doctor and Jackie followed.  
>"I'll show you where my ankle's going," Jackie hissed at him angrily.<br>I discreetly scooted myself between he and him. Yvonne led us through a doorway.  
>"It was only a matter of time until you found us. And at last you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor," Yvonne said.<br>She pushed open a doorway into a huge factory floor, full of alien artifacts and scientists working on them. "Welcome... to Torchwood," she said.  
>"That's a Jathar Sunglider," the Doctor said.<br>"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago," Yvonne said.  
>"What, did it crash?" he asked.<br>"No, we shot it down. It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us! Now if you'd like to come with me," Yvonne said.  
>{The Jathar are an entirely peaceful race!} he ranted into my head. {They literally would never harm a fly. Why would anyone shoot them down?}<br>{I do not understand,} I said, shaking my head.  
>Jackie glanced incredulously at the Doctor, while Yvonne led us on.<br>"The Torchwood Institute has a motto: "if it's alien, it's ours". Anything that comes from the sky - we strip it down, and we use it. For the good of the British Empire," she said.  
>"For the good of the what?" Jackie asked.<br>"The British Empire," Yvonne said.  
>"There ISN'T a British Empire," Jackie said.<br>"Not yet. Ah, excuse me," she said, taking a weapon off a soldier. "Now, if you wouldn't mind... do you recognise this, Doctor?" she asked.  
>"That's a particle gun," the Doctor said, extremely agitated by now.<br>"Good, isn't it?" Yvonne said.  
>Jackie tried to touch it, but Yvonne wrenched it from her grasp and ignored the interruption. "Took us eight years to get it to work," Yvonne said.<br>"It's the twenty-first century. You can't HAVE particle guns," the Doctor said.  
>"We must defend our border against the alien," she said.<br>She handed the particle gun back to the waiting soldier. "Thank you... Sebastian, isn't it?" she asked.  
>"Yes, Ma'am," he said.<br>Yvonne smiled. "Thank you, Sebastian," she said, turning back to us. "I think it's VERY important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days." She smiled smugly. "I'm a people person."  
>Jackie rolled her eyes.<br>"Have you got anyone called Allonzo?" the Doctor asked.  
>"No, I don't think so. Is that important?" Yvonne asked.<br>I rolled my eyes, and then stopped, realizing I was imitating Jackie. I could have vomited in horror.  
>"I suppose not. What was your name again?" he asked.<br>He walked off to examine the other artifacts.  
>{Yvonne Hartman,} I reminded him.<br>"Yvonne. Yvonne Hartman," she said at the exact same time.  
>The Doctor pulled a large device from a box.<br>"Ah yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tons of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric," Yvonne said proudly.  
>The Doctor threw the Magnaclamp back in the box and brushed his hands together. "I could do with that to carry the shopping," Jackie said.<br>"All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit. Not the general public's," Yvonne said patronisingly.  
>Jackie pulled a face, The Doctor looked through a magnifying glass. {Put your hand in front of here,} he said.<br>I complied. {What do you see?} I asked.  
>{You're a bit blue,} he said.<br>{I was modeled after a Galva Neertan,} I said. {Aquatic race. I would not be surprised if they were blue.}  
>"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor asked, moving away frm the magnifying glass.<br>"Ah yes, the ghosts. They're er... what you might call a side effect," Yvonne said.  
>"Of what?" the Doctor asked.<br>"All in good time, Doctor. There is an itinerary, trust me," she said.  
>Just then, the Tardis was driven in on the back of a truck.<br>"Oi! Where're you taking that?" Jackie asked.  
>"If it's alien, it's ours," Yvonne said.<br>"You'll never get inside it," the Doctor said.  
>"Hm! Et cetera," Yvonne said.<br>She walked away. As the Doctor and I watched the TARDIS, Rose opened the door a crack and peeked through it. The Doctor nodded encouragingly and looked away, before moving ot follow Yvonne. She took us down a corridor, flanked by armed soldiers.  
>"All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you," the Doctor said.<br>"But of course not. You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown," Yvonne said.  
>"1879... that was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland," he said, making the connection that I already had.<br>{Why didn't you tell me?} he asked.  
>{I assumed you already knew,} I said. {And by the way, we're stuck here. It's impossible to teleport in or out.}<br>{I guessed as much,} he said.  
>"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf," Yvonne said, oblivous to the exchange that had taken place between us.<br>"I think he makes half of it up," Jackie said.  
>"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great. And fighting the alien horde," Yvonne said.<br>"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?" the Doctor asked conversationally.  
>"Oh yes," Yvonne said lightly.<br>We rounded a corner and found ourselves outside a large black door.  
>"But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this," Yvonne said.<br>She pressed her ID card against the digital lock, opening the door. We walked into a large chamber. I knew something was off before I even put foot in that place. My scanners did not go wild, but that was what bothered me. There was an object, straight ahead, a large sphere. And it was giving off no readings whatsoever.  
>"Now, what do you make of that?" Yvonne said, indicating the Sphere.<br>{Doctor, do you see-}  
>{Uh,} he cut me off.<br>"You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir," a man said, walking up to us.  
>He held out his hand, but the Doctor was too immersed in gazing up at the sphere to notice.<br>"Yeah," the Doctor said vaguely.  
>Rajesh lowered his hand sheepishly.<br>"What IS that thing?" Jackie asked.  
>"We've got no idea," Yvonne said.<br>"But what's wrong with it?" Jackie asked.  
>"What makes you think there's something wrong with it?" Yvonne asked.<br>"I dunno... just feels weird," she said.  
>The Doctor darted forwards and up the steps leading up to the sphere. I followed, waiting at the base of the Sphere.<br>{It's not giving off any readings,} I sent.  
>{I know,} he said.<br>{Do you know what it is?} I asked.  
>{Yes,} he said.<br>"Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden," Yvonne said to Jackie.  
>"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable," Rajesh said. The Doctor put on his 3D glasses, looking up at the sphere through them. I wondered if they's used 3D glasses. Probably not.<br>"But - according to our instruments - the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat. No radiation. And it has no atomic mass," he said.  
>"But I can see it," Jackie said.<br>"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off... nothing. It is... absent," he said.  
>"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne asked.<br>"This is a Void Ship," the Doctor said.  
>{A what?} I asked.<br>"And what is that?" Yvonne asked.  
>"Well, it's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory, but... it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space. Travelling through the Void," he said.<br>He sat down on the bottom step, Yvonne and Rajesh crowding him. I pulled them back a bit, getting a glare from Yvonne which I returned.  
>"And what's 'the Void'?" Yvonne asked.<br>"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions - billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in-between. Containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that - nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down. No life. No time. Without end. My people called it the Void, the Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell," he said.  
>"But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?" Rajesh asked.<br>"To explore. To escape. You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang... end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation," he said.  
>"You see, we were right. There is something inside it," Yvonne said smugly.<br>"Oh yes," the Doctor said, looking at her. She was caught by his tone.  
>"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh asked.<br>The Doctor stood suddenly.  
>"We don't! We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?" he said.<br>"Well, that's how it all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake," Yvonne said.  
>"Show me," he said. He strode off, so fast I had to jog to keep up. He exited the chamber and turned left.<br>"No, Doctor," Yvonne called. He turned to go right.  
>{Doctor, a Void Ship is bad?} I asked.<br>{Most probably,} he replied.  
>{So there is a chance it may not be a threat?} I sent.<br>{A very small chance,} he sent. {Minute, alomost nonexistant.}  
>{Is there anything we can do about it?} I asked.<br>{We have to get Yvonne to send it back through wherever it came from somehow.} He paused. {And you should keep your head down Shadow,} he sent.  
>{Why's that?} I asked.<br>{'If it's alien, it's ours'. They would dissect you for your internal scanners, Oxygen Filter- I would imagine they already have Perception Filters, but the point still stands. Keep quiet.}  
>{And I was going to make so much noise,} I said.<br>{Is that sarcasm?} he asked.  
>{If you hang around humans, you are going to adopt humor. It is what defines a human. However, you do not neccecarily need emotions to possess humor. Nor does the presence of humor cause a sense of emotion to be developed,} I sent.<br>{Yeesh,} he said. {Point made.}  
>We turned a final corner, and emerged into an office-ish area.<br>"The sphere came through here. A hole in the world," Yvonne said, gesturing to an expanse of plain white wall.  
>The Doctor ran his hand over the smooth white wall. I would have scanned it, but I suspected that Torchwood would detect the use of scanners, and i had no intentions of being dissected.<br>"It's not active at the moment. But when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breach opens up," she said.  
>{Wouldn't forcing a hole in the fabric of reality open make t bigger?} I asked.<br>"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked, ignoring me.  
>"Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black-spot. So we built this place. Torchwood Tower. The breach was six hundred feet above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it," Yvonne said.<br>The Doctor put his 3D glasses on, looking at the wall.  
>"You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?" he asked.<br>"Enough," Yvonne said.  
>She walked away. The Doctor removed his glasses, and folded his arms, still contemplating the wall.<br>Jackie looked out of the window in Yvonne's office. "Hold on a minute... we're in Canary Wharf! Must be! This building, it's Canary Wharf," she said.  
>"Well, that is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood," Yvonne said.<br>The Doctor and I walked over to them. "So, you find the breach, probe it, the sphere comes through. Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, "oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe?" Nah, you think "let's make it BIGGER!" he said.  
>"It's a massive source of energy. If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes," she said.<br>{Ghost shifts are not good,} I said, stating the obvious. I would not have cared, except my Doctor was standing right next to the hole they were about to open. I was immensely uncomfortable.  
>Yvonne left the office and entered the main area. "Cancel it," the Doctor said.<br>"I don't think so," Yvonne said.  
>I'm warning you, cancel it," he said angrily.<br>Yvonne turned to him. "Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the rights of Man," she said.  
>"Let me show you," he said to her.<br>He took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and stood on the other side of the glass partition between Yvonne's office and the main area.  
>"Sphere comes through," he said.<br>{Carefull, or they'll dissect your screwdriver,} I sent.  
>He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the glass and activated it. The glass splintered and the crack extended outwards. "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension, splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours. With the Human Race hoping and wishing and helping them along! But too many ghosts, and..." He placed the lightest fingertip on the glass and the whole thing shattered, falling from the frame.<br>"Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful," Yvonne said. "Positions! Ghost Shift in one minute," she said to the staff.  
>"Ms Hartman, I am asking you - please, don't do it," the Doctor plead.<br>"We have done this a thousand times," Yvonne said confidently.  
>"Then stop at a thousand!" he yelled furiously.<br>"We are in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breach, but equally they can CLOSE it," Yvonne said.  
>They stared at each other for a few moments. Then the Doctor looked away.<br>"Okay," he said lightly. He walked into Yvonne's office to grab a chair.  
>"Sorry?" Yvonne asked.<br>"Never mind! As you were," he said.  
>"What, is that it?" Yvonne asked.<br>He settled down in the chair. I sat by the side of the chair, my hand on his. I couldn't teleport, but if things went wrong, I would be damned if I wouldn't try.  
>"No! Fair enough. Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?" he said smiling.<br>"Ghost Shift in twenty seconds," a girl said.  
>"Mm! Can't WAIT to see it!" the Doctor said.<br>"You can't stop us, Doctor," Yvonne said suspiciously.  
>"No, absolutely not!" he turned to Jackie. "Pull up a chair, Rose! Come and watch the fireworks."<br>Jackie went to stand behind the Doctor's chair.  
>"Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine... eight..."<br>Yvonne looked uneasy. She stared at the Doctor, and he raised his eyebrows at her, daring her to go through with it. "Seven... six... five... four... three... two..."  
>"Stop the shift. I said stop," Yvonne said.<br>"Thank you," the Doctor said gratefully. I breathed a sigh of relief.  
>"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything," Yvonne said.<br>"I'm glad to be of help," he said.  
>"And someone clear up this glass," she said to the room. "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess," she said. She walked into her office, sitting down at her desk with a laptop in front of her.<br>"So these ghosts, whatever they are - did they build the sphere?" she asked.  
>Her eyes lingered on the Doctor's feet which were crossed on the desk, but she decided to let it pass. He had parked himself in a chair, looking completely relaxed.<br>"Must have. Aimed it at this dimension like a canon ball," he said.  
>"Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor," Rajesh said over the laptop.<br>{Oh, no, Rose got caught,} I predicted.  
>The Doctor's face twitched. Yvonne turned the laptop around so the Doctor can see Rose and Rajesh on the screen. Rose was peering comically into the camera.<br>"She one of yours?" Yvonne asked.  
>The Doctor shook his head. "Never seen her before in my life," he said.<br>"Good! Then we can have her shot," Yvonne said.  
>He sat up. "Oh all right then, it was worth a try. That's... that's Rose Tyler," he said.<br>"Sorry," she said to him. She waved. "Hello!"  
>The Doctor waved back.<br>"Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's SHE?" Yvonne said, indicating Jackie.  
>"I'm her mother," Jackie said.<br>"Oh, you travel with her mother?" Yvonne asked the Doctor with raised eyebrows.  
>"He kidnapped me," Jackie said accusatorily. I glared at her.<br>"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother," the Doctor said.  
>"Charming," Jackie said snidely.<br>"I've got a reputation to uphold!" he protested.  
>{I do not understand,} I said.<br>{That's good Shadow, that's very good,} he said.  
>We heard engines starting up. Yvonne stood and addressed the staff.<br>"Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift," she said.  
>They ignored her, staring straight ahead.<br>"Who started the program? But- I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?" she demanded.  
>She pointed to the lever which is rising upwards of its own accord.<br>"Step away from the monitors, everyone," she ordered.  
>No one did - they continued typing.<br>"Gareth, Addy - stop what you're doing, RIGHT NOW. Matt. Step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop the levers!" Yvonne said, pannicking.  
>Two scientists rushed over to the levers and struggled to push them down.<br>"Stop the levers!" Yvonne said. "What's SHE doing?" the Doctor said, going over to a girl.  
>"Addy? Step away from the desk," Yvonne ordered.<br>The Doctor stared at her and snapped his fingers in front of her face, but Addy did not react.  
>"Listen to me. Step away from the desk," Yvonne said.<br>"She can't hear you," the Doctor said. "They're overriding the system."  
>We all stared anxiously at the blank expanse of wall. "We're going into Ghost Shift," the Doctor said as the light brightened. "It's the ear-piece controlling them. I've seen this before," he said.<br>{Cybermen?} I asked.  
>He took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and stood behind her. "Sorry. I'm so sorry," he said sincerely.<br>He held the sonic screwdriver to the ear-piece, deactivating it. Addy screamed in pain and slumped over the desk, dead. The others who were typing do the same.  
>"What happened? What did you just do?" Yvonne asked.<br>"They're dead," the Doctor said.  
>"You killed them," Jackie said.<br>"Oh someone else did that long before I got here," the Doctor said, turning to the computer.  
>"But you killed them!" Jackie said.<br>"Jackie, I haven't got time for this," he yelled angrily.  
>"What're those ear-pieces?" Yvonne asked.<br>"Don't," the Doctor said.  
>"But they're standard comms devices - how does it control them?" Yvonne asked.<br>The Doctor went over to a different computer. "Trust me, leave them alone," he said.  
>"But what are they?" Yvonne asked.<br>She took hold of Addy's ear-piece and pulled it - right out of her head. A trail of brain tissue was attached to it.  
>"Urgh! Oh, God! It goes inside their brain!" she said disgustedly.<br>She dropped it.  
>"What about the Ghost Shift?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Ninety percent there. It's still running. Can't you stop it?" Yvonne asked.  
>"They're still controlling it. They've hi-jacked the system," he said.<br>"Who's THEY?" Yvonne asked.  
>The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and held it flat on the palm of his hand, turning slowly.<br>"It might be a remote transmitter but it's gotta be close by. I can trace it," he said.  
>He darted off, evidently receiving some kind of signal from the sonic screwdriver.<br>I ran after him.  
>{You can't go after it, Cybernetic or not,} I sent. {I won't let you.}<br>"Jackie, stay here!" the Doctor said, ignoring me completely.  
>{Doctor,} I warned.<br>He ignored me, heading for the door.  
>I grabbed his arm, sending a jolt of phsycic energy into him. He reeled, dropping the screwdriver and falling over. I kept a firm grip on his arm, keeping him from falling.<br>"What are you doing?" Yvonne asked.  
>I ignored her, dragging him into the office area. I sat him down in the chair, and ripped out Yvonne's phone cord.<br>"Hey!" she protested.  
>The Doctor groaned, stirring as I tied him to the chair with the phone cord.<br>{What are you doing?} he asked, waking up with a jolt. I had stunned him more than rendered him unconcious, and I was afraid that trick only worked because he had been taken by surprise. It would not work again.  
>"Shadow, what are you doing?" he yelled out loud, struggling against the phone cord.<br>"Let him out," Yvonne said, rushing forward.  
>I looked at her. "Don't you dare," I said. "It's for his own good."<br>"Shadow, let me out, that's an order," he growled at me.  
>I ignored him. "Yvonne, I need you to tell me where the Tardis is," I said.<br>She placed her hands on her hips. "No. Let him out now so he can help us," she said.  
>I sighed, leaning forward and touching my fingers to her temple. She gasped, and collapsed, but I'd gotten what I needed.<br>I turned, grabbing the Doctor's chair. It was the good office kind, with wheels on the feet.  
>"Wait, what about Rose?" Jackie protested.<br>I ploughed past her, snatching up the sonic screwdriver, and wheeling the Doctor along as quickly as I could, ignoring his shrieks of protest. I turned a corner, and saw a Cyberman at the end of the hall. I cursed, and turned the other way, wheeling him into a supply closet.  
>{Be quiet,} I warned him.<br>{Shadow, you need to let me out. I HAVE to stop this,} he said, though he wasn't struggling.  
>{Shush,} I said, closing my eyes. I switched my internal scanners on, tuning them in to Cybernetic life forms. They were everywhere.<br>I knelt down to eye level with him. {Doctor, I can't get you out of here by hauling you through the halls.}  
>{Good, let me ou-}<br>{I'm going to let you out, but first understand something: You want to help these people. I understand that. But you cannot help them if you are dead. Do you understand?}  
>He nodded.<br>{Do exactly what I tell you Doctor, right?} I said. He nodded again, and I undid the knot a tthe back of the chair, unwinding the cord from around his wrists. He stood, and I scanned the immediate area around the closet. We were clear.  
>{I've got my scanners on, follow me,} I sent, stepping out of the closet.<br>We walked through the halls, avoiding all of the Cybermen. We made it to the hall outside of the storage shed where the Tardis was. I cursed internally, and turned off my scanners.  
>{They detected the energy signature from my scanner, and used it to pinpoint my location.} I pointed down the corridor leading left. {You go that way. Get to the Tardis, and get out. Do you understand?} I sent. I knew he would never do that, but I had to try.<br>I watched him go. Then I turned and went down the right corridor, turning on the Oxygen Filter, setting my internal scanners to maximum, and activating the Force Shield. I made a slight adjustment to my Shadow Device, changing the way tht the Cybermen saw me. Then I walked up to the nearest Cyberman.  
>"Unit 24AK2930 reporting for duty," I said.<p>

I stood by in the Rift Chamber, waiting. Yvonne and Jackie were already there, and they looked terrified. I was keeping and eye out for the captive I knew would be coming soon. I had given him instructions, my only objective being to get him safely out of here. But right now, I was a Cyberman. So I had to take the sneaky way.  
>"Hey!" a voice called from around the corner. The Cybermen turned, to see the Doctor's head poking around the corner.<br>He walked out onto full view, hands above his head. "I surrender," he said.  
>"Seize him," the Cyberleader said. I moved forward, placing my hand on his back and leading him forward.<br>Jackie spat at me. "You're a bloody traitor you are," she said.  
>I almost laughed. But if I laughed, that would compromise my Doctor's safety, so I swallowed my mirth, and stayed still, back straight as a rod, hand on the Doctor's back, just below his neck. I had adjusted my Shadow Device so that the Cybermen saw me as one of them, armor suit and all. I made sure that the humans could see me as I was though, to avoid the possibilty of being shot.<br>"Doctor, what are they?" Yvonne asked.  
>The Cyberleader turned to her. "We are the Cybermen. The Ghost Shift will be increased to 100 percent."<br>The levers lifted, and lines of Cybermen started walking through the light.  
>"These Cybermen - what've they got to do with the ghosts?" Jackie asked.<br>"Do you never listen? A footprint doesn't look like a boot!" the Doctor snapped.  
>"Achieving full transfer," the Cyberleader said.<br>"They're Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen," the Doctor said.  
>I remained silent, ready to move at a moment's notice.<br>The Cybermen continued to march from the light, slowly becoming more defined. "Millions of them. Right across the world," the Doctor said.  
>Hundreds of Cybermen stood in the light, ready for war.<br>"They're invading the whole planet," Yvonne said.  
>"Its not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory," the Doctor said.<br>They turned to look at the laptop as it started bleeping. I didn't dare turn.  
>"Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated." the computer said.<br>"What I don't understand is Cybermen don't have the technology to build the Void Ship, that's WAY beyond you. How did you create that sphere?" the Doctor asked a nearby Cyberman.  
>"The sphere is not ours," the Cyberman said.<br>"What?" the Doctor said, shocked.  
>"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed. Its origin is unknown," the Cyberman said.<br>"Then what's inside it?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Rose is down there," Jackie said fearfully.<br>{Doctor, what do we do?} I asked.  
>I got no reply from him.<p> 


	14. Doomsday

The Doctor was leaning against a wall. I was standing next to him, still in the guise of a Cyberman.  
>"What's down there?" Jackie insisted in concern. "She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?"<br>"I don't know," the Doctor said.  
>Jackie started to cry. The Doctor went over to her. "I'll find her. I brought you here, I'll get you both out. You and your daughter. Jackie, look at me. Look at me," he said. Jackie looked up at him, eyes red from tears. "I promise you. I give you my word," the Doctor said sincerely.<br>The Cyberleader approached Yvonne, who was sitting at her desk.  
>"You will talk to your central world authority and order global surrender," it said.<br>"Oh do some research. We haven't GOT a central world authority," Yvonne said without a trace of fear. I admired her for that.  
>"You have now. I will speak on all global wavelengths," the Cyberleader said.<br>The Doctor put on his 3D glasses.  
>{What do you see with those?} I asked.<br>{Stuff,} he replied.  
>{Is it possible for you to give me a more definitive answer?} I asked.<br>{Yes,} he sent.  
>{Will you?} I asked.<br>{No,} he replied distractedly.  
>"This broadcast is for human kind," the Cyberleader said. "Cybermen now occupy every land mass on this planet. But you need not fear. Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex and class and colour and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us."<br>We looked out a window. I tried something, that was semi-risky, but I was tired of standin still and doing nothing. I turned my Shadow Device off, and then turned it back on. I looked around quickly. None of the Cybermen had noticed. Yvonne was looking at me pointedly. I had decided that they must have some level of phsycic training at Torchwood, and therefore, a Shadow Device would not fool them(Unless they happened to be intoxicated).  
>I walked over to the others, looking out the window. Down in the streets below, the humans were fighting the Cybermen. It looked to me like they were losing.<br>"I ordered surrender," the Cyberleader said.  
>"They're not taking instructions. Don't you understand? You're on every street - you're in their homes. You've got their children. Of course they're gonna fight," the Doctor said angrily.<br>"Scans detect unknown technology active within sphere chamber," a Cyberman said.  
>"Cybermen will investigate," the Cyberleader said.<br>A Cyberman pushed two terrified members of staff roughly before him.  
>"Units 10RV65 and 10YU661 will investigate sphere chamber," the Cyberleader said.<br>"We obey," they said in unison.  
>"Units open visual link," the Cyberleader said.<br>A visual of the area occupied by the two Cybermen appeared on Yvonne's laptop.  
>"Visual contact established," the Cybreleader said.<br>A figure appeared from around a doorway. The Doctor stiffened as he saw the Dalek for the first time on Yvonne's laptop. {Doctor, that is a Dalek,} I said. {Daleks are number 13 on the list.}  
>He didn't reply.<br>"Identify yourselves," the Dalek said.  
>"You will identify first," the Cyberman in the hall said.<br>"State your identity," the Dalek said.  
>The Doctor was staring at the image on the laptop. {This is very bad Shadow,} he said. {This is very, very, very bad.}<br>{Yes Doctor,} I said. {We have Cybermen, Daleks, angry human women, men with guns, holes in the fabric of reality, concerned mothers, and government personel. All are ranked high on the list of potentially fatal dangers. Also, we are prisoners.}  
>"You will identify first," the Cyberman repeated.<br>"Identify!" the Dalek said.  
>"This argument is illogical, you will modify," the Cyberman said.<br>"Daleks do not take orders," the Dalek said.  
>"You have identified as Daleks," the Cyberman said.<br>"Rose said about the Daleks. She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?" Jackie asked fearfully.  
>The Doctor turned to her suddenly. "Phone," he hissed.<br>"What did you-?" Jackie whispered.  
>"Phone!" he said again. I stood between them and the Cybermen. It wouldn't do much, but the Shadow Device would keep them from registering anything they happened to see out of the corner of their eyes.<br>Jackie surreptitiously handed the Doctor her phone so the Cybermen didn't notice. The Doctor dialed Rose's number and held the phone to his ear, frantic with worry. "She's answered, she's alive," he said a minute later.  
>Jackie clapped her hands over her mouth. {Why haven't they killed her?} I sent.<br>"Why haven't they killed her?"he asked out loud at the exact same moment.  
>"Well, don't complain!" Jackie said.<br>"They must need her for something," the Doctor said, ignoring her comment. "The Genesis Ark?" he said inresponse to somethign he heard over the phone. He put on his 3D glasses and looked at the laptop again. "Our species our similar, though your design is inelegant," the Cyberman in the hall said.  
>{I wish you would tell me what those do,} I sent.<br>{Shush,} he sent back.  
>"Daleks have no concept of elegance," the Dalek replied.<br>"This is obvious. But consider - our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks - together, we could upgrade the Universe," the Cyberman said.  
>"You propose an alliance?" the Dalek said.<br>"This is correct," the Cyberman said. I prayed to whatever gods were listening that they rejected. It would be more useful to have the two of them trying to kill each other, than to have them allied, fighting together.  
>"Request denied," the Dalek said. I thanked whatever gods had answered.<br>The Cybermen immediately thrust their fists out, ready to shoot. "Hostile elements will be deleted," they said.  
>They shot at the Dalek, but the rays simply bounced off its armour.<br>"Exterminate!" the Dalek said.  
>The Dalek aimed at both Cybermen, one after the other, and they collapsed onto the floor.<br>"Open visual link," the Cyberleader said.  
>The Cyberleader addressed the Daleks in the sphere chamber through the projection screen.<br>"Daleks, be warned: you have declared war upon the Cybermen," it said. Jackie's eyes widened in horror.  
>"This is not war. This is pest control," a black colored Dalek said.<br>"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?" the Cyberleader asked.  
>"Four," the black Dalek said.<br>"You would destroy the Cybermen with FOUR Daleks?" the Cyberleader asked.  
>"We would destroy the Cybermen with ONE Dalek. You are superior in only one respect," the Dalek answered.<br>"What is that?" the Cyberleader asked.  
>"You are better at dying. Raise communications barrier!" the Daleks said. The screen showed static. The Doctor switched the phone off.<br>"Lost her," he said.  
>"Quarantine the Sphere Chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel," the Cyberleader said. I stiffened, looking at the window. It was a long shot, but there was a chance that the building was all that was shielded. I might be able to teleport just outside. If I could grab the Doctor, and jump out the window, and then teleport... I decided that was a viable option in the case of an emergency only. Yvonne struggled and shouted as they drag her away.<br>"No, you can't do this! We surrendered! We surrendered!" Yvonne yelled.  
>They began to drag Jackie and reached for the Doctor, and I got ready to grab him and jump.<br>"This one's increased adrenaline suggests he has vital Dalek information," the Cyberleader said. The Cybermen backed off, and I relaxed.  
>"You promised me! You gave me your word!" Jackie screamed at him as she was dragged away.<br>"I'll think of something!" he yelled back as she disappeared from view. The Doctor sat on the window sill in silence. I stood next to him, trying to weigh the risk of jumping out the window and hoping that the immediate area outside the building was clear, and waiting to seee what the Cybermen were going to do with us.  
>"You are proof," the Cyberleader said.<br>"Of what?" he asked. I sniffed the air curiously. Was that burnt lasagna?  
>"That emotions destroy you," it said.<br>"Yeah, I am," he said.  
>{I smell burnt lasagna,} I sent.<br>He glanced around the Cyberleader. "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion. And here it comes," he said.  
>The Cyberman followed his gaze. A group of people dressed in black suits, wearing helmets and carrying guns appeared out of thin air. One of them shouted to the others and they shot at a row of Cybermen, immediately destroying them. I shoved the Doctor to the side, pushing him into a corner of Yvonne's office as the last Cyberman had his head blown off.<br>"Doctor - good to see you again," the one who had shouted said.  
>He takes off his helmet, and the Doctor's eyes widened. I though he looked vaguely familiar.<br>"Jake?" he asked.  
>{You know this male?} I asked.<br>"The Cybermen came through from one world to another - and so did we," he said. And I remembered where I'd seen him. He'd been at Pete Tyler's house in the alternate universse, just before I'd teleported us. The Doctor stared at him, looking more concerned than pleased.  
>"Defend this room. Chrissie, monitor communications," Jake instructed his group.<br>The Doctor put on his 3D glasses, using them to look at the group.  
>{Will you please tell me what you see?} I sent.<br>"Kill one Cyber Leader and they just download into another. Move!" Jake said.  
>They hurried from the room to do as they're told, leaving the Doctor and I alone with Jake.<br>"You can't just- just- just HOP from one world to another. You CAN'T," he said.  
>"We just did. With these," Jake said.<br>He threw the Doctor what looked like a large yellow button on a chain, to be worn around the neck.  
>"But that's impossible. You can't have this sort of technology," the Doctor said.<br>"We've got our own version of Torchwood. They developed it. Do you wanna come and see?" he said.  
>"NO!" the Doctor yelled. Jake pressed the button and they both disappeared.<br>I looked around in cunfusion.  
>{Doctor?} I asked. There was no reply.<br>"DOCTOR!" I screamed out loud. I ran in to the hall, turning off my Shadow Device as I went. I ran out the door, going to look for one of Jake's team, and another yellow button. I ran through the halls, and turned a corner, to see a Cyberman ahead. I cursed aloud, turning and running the other way. I turned another corner, and barreled into one of Jake's team.  
>"HA!" I yelled, pressing the button.<br>There was a whooshing noise, and I looked around. I was apparently in the same corridor that I had left, but there were no Cybermen, and this building was in worse shape.  
>"Who are you?" the man demanded.<br>I didn't answer, just reached for the Doctor.  
>{Where are you?} I asked.<br>{Rift chamber,} he said distractedly.  
>"I asked you a question," the man said.<br>I ignored him, teleporting to the rift room.  
>The Doctor was pressed up against the white expanse of wall, squinting as if trying to hear something. Pete stood behind him.<br>"When you left this world, you warned us there'd be more Cybermen. So we sealed them inside the factories," he was saying. I activated my Shadow Device, and walked up to the Doctor. I could teleport in here, and I suspected that was because the shielding technology that had prevented my doing so in my universe was either disabled, broken or absent.  
>The Doctor stepped away from the wall.<br>"Except people argued. Said they were living. We should HELP them," Jake said.  
>"And the debate went on. But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world, and then vanished," Pete said.<br>"When was this?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Three years ago," Pete said.<br>They strolled back down the room.  
>"It's taken them three years to cross the void, but we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once," the Doctor said.<br>"Yeah, Mickey said you'd rattle off that sort of stuff," Jake said.  
>"Oh, where is the Mickey-boy?" the Doctor asked.<br>"He went ahead first. Any chance to go and find Miss Rose Tyler," Pete said.  
>"She's your daughter. You do know that? Did Mickey explain?" the Doctor said.<br>"She's not mine. She's the child of a dead man," Pete said.  
>The three of them walked over to the window. I stayed by the wall, deactivating my Shadow Device. My Doctor was in no immediate danger.<br>"Look at it. A world of peace. They're calling this 'The Golden Age'," Pete said.  
>"Who's the President now?" the Doctor said.<br>"A woman called Harriet Jones," Pete answered.  
>"I'd keep an eye on her," the Doctor said.<br>"But it's a lie. Temperatures have risen by two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They're saying all this is gonna be flooded. That's not just global warming, is it?" Pete asked.  
>"No," the Doctor replied.<br>"It's the breach," the Doctor said. "I've been trying to tell you - travel between parallel worlds is impossible." Jake rolled his eyes and looked around, spotting me. He walked towards me, leaving the others.  
>"You teleported us- that night, when the Cybermen took control," he said.<br>I nodded. "That I did," I said. I narrowed my eyes, deciding to take advantage of an opportunity that had not presented itself to me before.  
>"What happened that night?" I asked. "Did he really keep out of trouble, or was I wasting my breath?"<br>Jake chuckled. "Well, he kept alive, I don't know about staying out of trouble. He blew up the factory that they were using as a base of operations," he said.  
>I let my breath out in a sigh. "I tell him to say out of trouble, he immediately heads for number 20," I said.<br>"Number 20?" Jake asked confusedly.  
>"On the list of potentially fatal dangers," I explained. "You have a list?" Jake asked. I nodded. "Well what's number 20?" he asked.<br>"Enemy bases of Operation," I replied.  
>"Really? And that's number 20?" he asked. I nodded. "How long is your list?" he asked.<br>"Long," I replied.  
>"So what's number 1?" he asked.<br>"The Doctor," I replied.  
>"Really? He's number 1 on the list of things that will potentially kill him?" Jake asked. I nodded. Jake shrugged.<br>"Oddly enough, I could believe that," Jake said.  
>"Jake," Pete said. "We're going."<br>He turned back to me, holding out his hand. "We're going back to your universe," he said. I took his hand, and Pete pressed the button.  
>On the other side, The Doctor rushed to the phone.<br>"First of all, I need to make a phone call. You don't mind?" he asked Pete.  
>Pete watched the Doctor as he hurriedly dials Jackie's number on the phone in Yvonne's office. I left Jake to stand at his side. "Jackie, you're alive! Listen-" the Doctor said.<br>He shushed her, and I could hear her screeching hysterically over the phone.  
>"Listen, tell me - where are you?" the Doctor asked. Jackie said something I couldn't hear. "Yeah, which one? Is there any- any sort of sign? Anything to identify it?" the Doctor asked. Jackie said something. "Yeah, that helps," the Doctor said in annoyance. There was a pause as Jackie talked some more. "North corner, staircase 3. Just keep low, we're trying our best," the Docrtor said.<br>"No, don't leave me!" she shrieked loud enough for me to hear.  
>"I've gotta go, I'm sorry," he said, putting the phone down and turning to Pete.<br>"Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler," he said.  
>"She's not my wife," Pete said.<br>"I was at the wedding. You got her name wrong," the Doctor said accusingly.  
>He went to Jake and took his gun off him.<br>"Now then, Jake-y boy, if I can open up the bonding chamber on this thing, it could work on polycarbide," he said.  
>"What's polycarbide?" Jake asked.<br>"Skin of a Dalek," I replied for him. Jake smiled at me, and I smiled back. I was feeling something odd, an emotion. I had definitely never felt it before. But I liked it.

{This is ludicrous,} I said to the Doctor.  
>{Isn't everything we do?} he asked.<br>I stood back with my hands on my hips as he poked the 'flag' around the corner. It was really just a peice of white paper skewered on a rod. I did not like this one bit. Jake and the others stood behind me, unarmed. We'd left the guns back in Yvonne's office, gaurded by some of Jake's team.  
>"Sorry," the Doctor said, his head following the flag. "No white flag. I only had a sheet of A4. Same difference," he said, walking around the corner. I inched forward, turning on my Shadow Device, and poked my head around the wall. Jake put a hand in my shoulder warningly, and I smiled confidently at him, before peeking out again.<br>One of the Cybermen was holding his fist before him, ready to shoot.  
>"Do you surrender?" he asked.<br>The Doctor marched forward to meet the Cybermen, little white 'flag' slung over his shoulder.  
>"I surrender. Unto you," he said, nose-to-nose with the Cyberman. "A very good idea," he said, grinning.<p>

"I don't believe that worked," I said aloud.  
>"I do, I said it would, didn't I?" the Doctor said, smiling cockily as we walked to the Sphere Chamber. He regarded me oddly, and I returned the look.<br>{Whatever you have to say, you'd better spit it out,} I sent.  
>{Well, may be none of my business, but you seem a bit... friendly with Jake,} he said.<br>{Don't be ridiculous,} I sent back. {I have no emotions.}  
>{You were angry earlier, weren't you?} he asked.<br>{I don't know what that was. It could have been anything,} I said.  
>{Like what?} he asked.<br>{Like... like a... oh I don't know, like a-}  
>{Like? Like?} he prompted.<br>{Oh, shut it,} I said. {I am many things, deffective is not one of them.}  
>{No, course not,} he sent.<br>We both stopped the exchange, concentrating on the voices emerging from the Sphere Chamber.  
>"And I killed him!" we heard Rose say giddily. The Doctor and I observed from the doorway. Mickey and Rose were there, Rose had her face right up to a Daleks eyestalk. The Doctor pulled out his 3D glasses, puting them on.<br>"You will be exterminated!" a Dalek said.  
>"Oh now, hold on, wait a minute," the Doctor said. I activated my Shadow Device.<br>"Alert, alert - you are the Doctor," the Dalek said.  
>Rose smiled with delight, and the Doctor sauntered into the room.<br>"Sensors report he is unarmed," a Dalek said.  
>"That's me. Always," the Doctor said.<br>"Then you are powerless," the Dalek said.  
>"Not me," the Doctor said, taking off his glasses with a flourish. "Never. How are you?" he said to Rose.<br>Rose grinned at him. "Oh, same old, you know," Rose said.  
>"Scanners detect a Perception Filter behind the Doctor. Disable it immediately," the Dalek said.<br>I hurriedly turned it off myself, as I thought that 'disable' probably meant 'blast out of existence'.  
>"Good! And Mickity-McMickey!" the Doctor said, bashing fists with him. "Nice to see ya!"<br>"And you, boss," Mickey said.  
>"Social interaction will cease!" a Dalek said.<br>"How did you survive the Time War?" another Dalek asked.  
>"By fighting. On the front line," the Doctor replied. "I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot - ran away!" he said.<br>"We had to survive," one of the Daleks said.  
>"The last four Daleks in existence. So what's so special about YOU?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Doctor, they've got names," Rose said. "And Daleks don't have names, do they? One of them said they-"  
>"I am Dalek Thay," one of the Dalek said.<br>"Dalek Sek," the black one said.  
>"Dalek Jast," said the one who had detected my Shadow Device.<br>"Dalek Caan," said the one who would have 'disabled' my Shadow Device.  
>"So THAT'S it! At last... the Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend," the Doctor said, sounding delighted.<br>"Who are they?" Rose asked.  
>The Doctor strolled around the Daleks. "A secret order. Above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine. Think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names." He paused. "All to find new ways of killing," he said disgustedly.<br>Mickey gestured to the Ark. "But that thing, they said it was yours. I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?" Mickey asked.  
>The Doctor glanced at it. "I don't know. Never seen it before," he said.<br>"But it's... Time Lord," Rose said.  
>"Both sides had secrets," he said, turning to the Daleks. "What is it? What have you done?" he asked.<br>"Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy," Dalek Sek said.  
>"What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They said one touch from a time traveller will wake it up," Rose said.  
>"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch. Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything... ever... from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage." He whispered. "Completely alone. And that explains your voice. No wonder you scream," he said.<br>"The Doctor will open the Ark!" Dalek Sek said.  
>The Doctor laughed contemptuously.<br>"The Doctor will not," the Doctor said.  
>{That is incorrect,} I sent. {The proper-}<br>{Shadow? I did that on purpose,} he sent.  
>{Oh,} I sent back.<br>"You have no way of resisting," Dalek Sek said.  
>"Well... you got me there. Although... there is always this," he said, takintg the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.<br>"A sonic probe?" Dalek Sek asked.  
>"That's 'screwdriver'," the Doctor said sharply.<br>{The Dalek's terminology is corret Doctor,} I said.  
>{Don't you turn against me now,} he said jokingly.<br>{I merely state facts,} I said.  
>{Hmm, probably a sign of mental illness,} he said. I pondered that.<br>"It is harmless," Dalek Sek said scornfully. I almost giggled, knowing the plan.  
>"Oh yes. Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do - it is VERY good at opening doors," he said.<br>He activated the screwdriver, and immediately, the doors exploded inwards. Jake, his men, and the Cybermen leapt into action, firing their guns at the Daleks.  
>"Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!" the Cybermen said. It was almost comical. Almost.<br>"Alert! Casing impact, casing impact!" Dalek Caan yelled.  
>The Doctor and Rose flung themselves to the ground, trying to avoid the guns.<br>I glanced over at Jake he was doing good, to see him firing away with the rest of his team.  
>"Rose, get out," the Doctor yelled, and I shifted my attention back to him.<br>Rose ran towards the door but stumbled, falling.  
>"Fire power insufficient! Fire power insufficient!" Dalek Sek said.<br>Pete helped Rose to her feet, and they ran for the door. Mickey picked up a gun and started firing anywhere.  
>"Daleks will be deleted. Delete! Delete!" the Cybermen said, and I giggled, before clapping a hand to my mouth. I felt wierd today.<br>The Doctor managed to reach Rose and Pete where they stood in the doorway, out of harms way. I was still on the other side of the room, and I broke suddenly, running to join them.  
>"Mickey, come on!" Rose yelled.<br>"Adapt to weaponry!" Dalek Thay said.  
>"Fire power restored!" Dalek Sek said.<br>The Dalek fired once at a Cyberman, immediately destroying it.  
>"Jake!" I yelled. He looked over at me, and I motioned for him to come here. He managed to reach the door, and I smiled in relief.<br>"Cybermen primary target," Dalek Sek said.  
>Mickey winced in pain, looking at his hand. The rest of Jake's men managed to slip through the door before it closed, sealing both the Daleks and the Cybermen inside.<br>"Jake, check the stairwell. The rest of you, come on!" the Doctor yelled, turning run down the corridor. I paused, looking at Jake.  
>"Be careful," I said, before running after the Doctor.<p>

"I just fell, I didn't mean it!" Mickey was saying.  
>"Mickey, without us, they'd have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour!" the Doctor said, kissing the top of Mickey's head. "Now, run!" he said.<br>We turned a corner, and ground to a halt, as we saw two Cybermen ahead, their backs to us.  
>"You will be upgraded," one of them said.<br>"No, but you can't! Please-" I heard Jackie say.  
>Pete aimed his gun and shot, killing the Cybermen. Jackie squinted through the smoke clouding him, uncomprehending, then her eyes widened.<br>"Pete!" she said.  
>Rose's hands flew up to her mouth.<br>"Hello, Jacks," Pete said. I clasped my hands behind my back and stared a the ceiling, lips pursed. We really should be moving.  
>"I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair. Why him?" Jackie whined.<br>"I'm not a ghost," Pete said.  
>"But you're dead. You died twenty years ago, Pete," Jackie said.<br>The Doctor stepped forward tentatively. "It's Pete from a different Universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where-"  
>"Oh, you can shut up," Jackie snapped at him.<br>{Just do it Doctor,} I sent, and for once, the Doctor did as I said, stepping back. Pete smiled.  
>"Oh... you look old," Jackie said, gazing at Pete.<br>"You don't," Pete said.  
>"How can you be standing there?" Jackie asked.<br>"Just got lucky... lived my life," Pete said. "You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or...?"  
>"There was never anyone else," Jackie said quietly.<br>The Doctor and Mickey both smirked simultaneously.  
>"Twenty years, though. Look at me - I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself," Jackie said.<br>"Brought HER up. Rose Tyler," Pete said. The Doctor and Mickey smiled. I was watching the two of them carfully now, as their facial expressions seemed to be mirroring each other. I found this pheneomenon fascinating.  
>"That's not bad," Pete continued.<br>"Yeah," Jackie whispered.  
>"In my world, it worked. All those daft little plans of mine. They worked. Made me rich," Pete said.<br>"I don't care about that," Jackie said. "How rich?" she added after a momentary pause.  
>"Very," Pete said.<br>"I don't care about that. How very?" she asked. Pete laughed. Rose rolled her eyes and the Doctor smiled fondly. I was disappointed when Mickey rolled his eyes along with Rose.  
>"Thing is though, Jacks, you're... you're not my wife," Pete said. "I'm sorry, but you're not. I mean, we both..."<br>Jackie nodded. He looked at her oddly.  
>"You know, it's just sort of..." he gave in and started towards her. "Oh, come here," he said. They ran to meet each other, Jackie starting to cry. He swept her off the ground in a huge hug.<br>"All Cybermen to Torchwood Tower," the Cyberleader said over the comm. We all looked up, and started running again. "Repeat - all Cybermen to Torchwood."  
>{Where are we going?} I asked the Doctor.<br>{To fetch some things,} he replied.  
>We stopped in front of the factory door. The Doctor cracked the door open, to see the Cybermen and the Daleks doing battle inside. The Doctor dived into the room suddenly.<br>{Doctor, no you idiot,} I sent, grabbing the collar of his shirt and hauling him back in. He choked a bit glaring at me. I pointed my finger at him accusingly.  
>"You're not going out there," I said, glaring at him.<br>"I need the Magna Clamps," he said.  
>"Then I'll get them,"I shot back. "But there's no way I'm letting you go out there." I didn't wait for him to answer, just dived out of the door, landing on my elbows. I jumped to my feet, staying crouched down, below most of the fire. I looked around, seeing the Magna Clamps box. I ran over, diving behind the box as quickly as possible. I peeked up over the box, dropping quickly as my head was almost taken off by a laser beam. The top was on, and there was no way I was going to be able to get it off here. I looked at the bottom of the box, and sighed. No wheels. I started pushing anyways, keeping the box between me and most of the fire. I turned, pulling as I got closer to the door.<br>{Come on, come on, come on, come on,} the Doctor said.  
>{I'm coming,} I snapped back. {This thing's heavy.}<br>{I didn't mean for you to hear that,} he said.  
>{Oh, silent urging?} I asked.<br>I was close enough to the door now. He darted out, and helped me pull it the rest of the way into the hall.  
>{Yep,} he said, bringing the screwdriver out of his pocket and pointing it at the lid.<br>The seals on the sides popped open, and he took the lid off, taking out two Magna Clamps, and dumping them into my arms.  
>He put on his 3D glasses on, and poked his head out the door again. Rose, Mickey and I poked our heads out to.<br>"Override roof mechanism," Dalek Sek said.  
>The roof began to open slowly.<br>"El-ev-ate," Sek said.  
>"What're they doing? Why'd they need to get outside?" Rose asked.<br>"Time Lord science- WHAT Time Lord science?" the Doctor asked himself, baffled. He took his glasses off. "What is it?" he asked.  
>Dalek Sek elevated through the ceiling into the open air with the Ark. The Doctor shut the door. He ran back down the corridor, shouting to the us as he went.<br>"We've gotta see what it's doing, we've gotta go back up! Come on! All of you! Top floor!" he yelled.  
>"That's forty-five floors up! Believe me, I've done 'em all," she said.<br>Jake popped his head out of the lift. "We could always take the lift," he said. I grinned at him, and he grinned back at me as we all piled into the lift.  
>The lift stopped, and we ran out of the lift on the top floor, rushing to the window. The Genesis Ark spun, Daleks shooting out of it, more and more of them. The Doctor stared in horror.<br>"Time Lord science... it's bigger on the inside," he said.  
>"Did Time Lords put those Daleks in there? What for?" Mickey asked.<br>"It's a prison ship," I said.  
>"How many Daleks?" Rose asked.<br>"Millions," the Doctor said.  
>Pete walked away from the window. "I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's gonna crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home. Jacks, take this," he said.<br>He tossed her one of the yellow buttons.  
>"But they're destroying the City!" Jackie protested.<br>"I'd forgotten you could argue," Pete said affectionately, looping the button around her neck himself. "It's not just London, it's the whole world."  
>He took her face in his hands, making her look at him.<br>"But there's another world, just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe. As long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?" Pete asked.  
>The Doctor turned from the window with his 3D glasses on and a big grin spreading from ear to ear on his face. I stared surprised that anyone's mouth could stretch that far across their face..<br>"Oh, I'm ready. I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood!" he said gleefully. He dashed to a computer. "Slam it down and close off both universes," he said.  
>"Reboot systems," the computer said.<br>"But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen-?" Rose said.  
>My eyes widened as I picked up on his thoughts.<br>"Oh, that is brilliant Doctor," I said appreciatively. "And I get the glasses now."  
>The Doctor stood. "Thank you Shadow," he said, before turning to Rose and the rest. "They're part of the problem. And THAT makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!" he said.<br>Rose laughed nervously.  
>"Well? Isn't anyone gonna ask? What is it with the glasses?" he asked impatiently.<br>Rose grinned. "What is it with the glasses?" she asked.  
>"I can SEE! That's what! 'Cos we've got two separate worlds, but in-between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here! And you lot - one world to another, via the Void! Oh, I like that. Via the Void! Look!" he said, pressing the glasses onto Rose's face.<br>"I've been through it. Do you see?" he asked.  
>He dodged about, and she reached out to touch the air around the Doctor.<br>"Reboot in three minutes," the computer said.  
>"Void stuff," the Doctor said.<br>"Like um... background radiation!" Rose said.  
>"That's it. Look at the others," he said. Rose turned to look at Jake, Mickey, Jackie and Pete. I looked too. I could see the radiation without aid of 3D glasses. Internal scanners..<br>The Doctor pointed at Jackie, the only one who was not affected by the radiation. "The only one who hasn't been through the Void - your mother. First time she's looked normal in her life," he said. Rose giggled.  
>"Oi!" Jackie said indignantly.<br>The Doctor dashed into the clear white area, Rose following.  
>"The Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen - all of them. I just open the Void - end of verse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside," the Doctor said enthusiastically "Pulling them all in," Rose said.<br>"Pulling them all in!" the Doctor repeated.  
>"Sorry... what's- what's the Void?" Mickey asked.<br>"The dead space," the Doctor said.  
>"Some people call it hell," I put in.<br>Mickey looped the button around his neck. "So... you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell," he said. He turned to Jake. "Man, I told you he was good," he said.  
>Rose looked around with the glasses on. "But it's... like you said, we've ALL got Void stuff. Me too, 'cos we went to that parallel world," she said. She flexes her fingers, and then pulled the glasses off. The Doctor stood before her.<br>"We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in," she said to the Doctor.  
>"That's why you've gotta go," he said to Rose.<br>"Reboot in two minutes," the computer said.  
>Rose stared at him, uncomprehending.<br>"Back to Pete's world," he said. He pointed at Pete. "Hey, we should call it that - 'Pete's World'," he said.  
>He turned back to Rose. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side," he said.<br>Rose continued to stare at him.  
>"And then you close it. For good?" Pete asked.<br>"The breach itself is soaked in Void Stuff, in the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput," the Doctor said.  
>Rose realised what this meant.<br>"But you stay on THIS side-"  
>"But you'll get pulled in," Mickey said.<br>"Nope," I shook my head, smiling happily.  
>The Doctor held Rose's gaze for a moment before he ran over to the magnaclamps. Rose stayed put, looking like she'd been slapped in the face.<br>"That's why... I got these. I'll just have to hold on tight - I've been doing it all my life," he said.  
>"I'm supposed to go," Rose said.<br>I looked over at Jake, who was standing in a corner, motioning urgently for me to come over. I did.  
>"Come with us," he said. I stared at him.<br>"What?" I asked.  
>"Come with us. To my universe," he said.<br>I shook my head. "I can't," I said.  
>"Why not?" he asked, taking my hands. "Why can't you come?"<br>"I have a job. A purpose. I have to protect the Doctor," I explained.  
>"He can take care of himself," Jake argued. "He took care of himself before he met you, he should be able to manage without you now," he said<br>I looked at him curiously. "Why would you want me to come in the first place?" I asked.  
>"Because I... I think I ... I might...-"<br>"What?" I asked.  
>He looked me in the eye, swallowing. "I like you. I haven't known you for too long, but I would like to get to know you better, Shadow" he said.<br>I stared at him, swallowing past a lump in my throat. "I would like that too Jake, but I can't come. I've been pre-programmed to protect the Doctor, it's all I have," I said. I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I just can't," I said, backing up a step.  
>He sighed. "Fine then. Just do me a favor, will you?" he asked. I nodded.<br>"I will. What is it?" I asked.

"Don't forget me," he said.  
>A tear slid down my cheek. "I won't," I said. Then he was just gone. I stood in shock for a moment, and then turned, looking at my Doctor. He looked back at me, with an expression in his eyes that seemed too much like pity for my liking.<br>"They've gone, haven't they?" I said.  
>He nodded. "I'm so sorry Shadow," he said.<br>I sniffed, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. "Doesn't matter. What's done's been done. It can't be helped."  
>He walked over to the computer, instructing me ot the other one.<br>Then Rose reappeared.  
>"I think this is the on switch," she said.<br>The Doctor started. He sprang up, running over to her and grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, stooping slightly so he could look straight into her eyes.  
>"Once the breach collapses, that's IT. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!" he said.<br>"I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you," Rose said calmly, though her voice was trembling.  
>The Doctor stared at her for a moment, stunned. Then he released his grip.<br>"So what can I do to help?" Rose asked.  
>"Systems rebooted. Open access," the computer said. Rose stubbornly held the Doctor's gaze. He sighed, giving in.<br>He pointed to a computer. "Those co-ordinates over there, set them all at six," he said. He looked at me, going over to a computer himself.  
>{Shadow, I'm disabling the system that prevents you from teleporting. Go, get to that crate, and get another Magna Clamp. I'll wait for you, just clamp it to the wall, and hold on,} he sent.<br>I nodded, telelporting outside the factory.  
>I reached into the box quickly, pulling out a Magna Clamp. I secured it to the wall and pressed the red button.<br>{I'm ready Doctor,} I sent.  
>{Good, stay there, and for heaven's sake, HOLD ON} he sent.<br>I complied, gripping the Magna Clamp for all I was worth. A Cyberman appeared from around the corner, raising his arm.  
>"You will be taken for emergeny upgrading," it said.<br>"Sure, can I just have a moment?" I asked.  
>"You have sixty seconds," it said.<br>I smiled. "Fantastic, thanks."  
>{Doctor, I'm about to be upraded,} I sent.<br>{Hold on tight, it's starting in thirty seconds,} the Doctor said.  
>I waited. The Cyberman stepped forward. "Your time is up. You will be upgraded," it said, advancing. I clutched the clamp tightly. Ten seconds. The Cyberman was close. Five seconds. He was reaching forward, ready to haul me away. I clutched the clamp more tightly as my feet were swept out from under me. The Cyberman was jerked backwards, and he flew,down the halls, and out of sight. I held onto the Clamp for dear life as I the pull increased, trying to pull me away. I was doing good, until I heard a scream, tearing through my mind.<br>{ROSE!} it yelled. I yelped in pain, letting go of the clamp. I screamed as I was pulled, down the halls, banging on the walls, being bumped here and there. I scrabbled for a grip on the walls, but I kept going. And the I just stopped, falling to the ground with a cry. Normally, I would have caught myself, but I was dizzy, and confused, so I just fell.  
>I got up, my head pounding, from the mental cry as well as the beating I'd gotten when I'd been pulled down the halls.<br>I limped around the corner, heading to the lift, before remembering that I could teleport now. I teleported into the Rift Chamber.  
>I looked around at the clean white walls, and the ruined equipment lying around, before spotting the Doctor. He was standing, face turned sidways, resting on the wall, palm flat against the smooth white surface. Rose was nowhere to be seen.<br>{Doctor?} I asked.  
>He didn't respond, but my mind brushed against his, just for a second. And I drew away. There was so much pain there. More loss than even I felt now. I stood to the side, leaving him. He finally let his hand slide down the wall. He turned walking away from it.<br>{Come on Shadow. We're going,} he sent.  
>I followed silently. I didn't ask what had happened. He would tell me if he wanted. I wouldn't pry.<p>

I fell over halfway to the Tardis. "Doctor," I said. He knelt next to me, and I clutched his arms, trying to stay awake.  
>"Doctor, I know you're going to contact Rose. S- send Jake a message for me, would you?" I asked.<br>He nodded. "I will. What is it?" he asked.  
>"Tell- tell him, my name, and that I'll keep my promise. And that he'd better do the same," I said.<br>"I will," he said.  
>I clutched his hand tighter. "Help me remember Doctor. Please," I said, staring into his eyes.<br>He held my hand tightly. "I already promised Tei," he said.  
>I nodded in satisfaction, and closed my eyes, letting darkness claim me.<p> 


	15. The Runaway Bride

I opened my eyes, and sat up. I swung my legs out of the bed, and stood, swaying slightly.  
>I opened my door, and stepped out, walking into the control room.<br>"Doctor?" I asked.  
>I got no response.<br>{Doctor?} I sent.  
>{Yes Shadow what is it?} he sent, sounding tired.<br>{Where are you?} I asked.  
>{Just outside the Tardis.} He paused. {If you're gonna come out, just know that I have company, and she's... well, angry for one,} he sent. I walked out of the Tardis. We were on the roof of a building. A tall building from the looks of it. The Doctor, and a woman were sitting on the ege, feet hanging off. I walked over to them. The woman was wearing his jacket over what looked like a wedding dress. Had he gotten married? How long had I been asleep for?<br>He picked up on my thoughts. {God no,} he said, sounding horrifed. {No, no, no, no, I didn't marry her.} He turned to look at me.  
>"Erm, Donna, I'd like you to meet a- a friend of mine," he said.<br>Donna turned to look at me. "Oh, another one," she said. "How many women _has_ he abducted then?" she asked. I cocked my head to the side.  
>"Oh right," she said, nodding. "Not a one."<br>"Er, Donna, this is Shadow, Shadow, this is Donna Noble," the Doctor said, looking immensely uncomfortable.  
>I nodded. "Nice meeting you," I said.<br>She turned back to him, ignoring me. "So, come on then. Robot santas - what are they for?" Donna asked.  
>"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas," he said.<br>"Why, what happened then?" Donna asked.  
>"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" I asked, stitting on the other side of the Doctor.<br>"I had a bit of a hangover," Donna said dismissively.  
>The Doctor scanned the landscape. He nodded in the direction of the Powell Estate. "I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate. With this... family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were..." He paused for a long moment, lost in thought. "Still... gone now," he said.<br>"Your friend... who was she?" Donna asked.  
>"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you?" he asked. "And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know," he said, contemplating her. Donna rolled her eyes.<br>{What did I miss?} I asked. He sent me memories of the last few hours. {You're already in trouble? I may have to override the repair time in order to keep you alive,} I said.  
>{Can you do that?} he asked.<br>I shook my head. {No, unfortunately,} I said.  
>{You have no idea,} he said He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket. "What's your job?" he asked Donna.<br>"I'm a secretary," Donna said.  
>He scanned her with it. {I could have just done that,} I sent. He ignored me.<br>"It's weird, I mean - you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."  
>"This friend of yours - just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" Donna asked.<br>She whacked the screwdriver aside.  
>{Doctor, Angry human Women are nuber two on the list,} I reminded him.<br>{I thought it was insulted human women?} he asked.  
>{The list reads: Number 2: InsultedAngry human women,} I sent.  
>"Stop bleeping me!" Donna said.<br>"What kind of secretary?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping," she said.<br>{Lance?} I asked.  
>{Fiancee,} he replied.<br>"I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought - I'm never gonna fit in here," Donna continued. "And then he made me a coffee." Her gaze was distant, like she was a thousand miles away. "I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance - he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him - one cup of coffee. That was it," she said.  
>"When was this?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Six months ago," Donna said.  
>"Bit quick, to get married," I said.<br>"Well... he insisted," she said, smiling. And he nagged... and he nagged me, and he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in."  
>"What does HC Clements do?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing," Donna said. "If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'."  
>"Keys..." the Doctor said.<br>"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy," Donna said.  
>{Martian-boy?} I sent, looking at him oddly. {I was told you were Galifreyan.}<br>"Yeah. I'm not from Mars," he said, to me and her.  
>Donna nodded. The Doctor stood and lent her a hand to help her up.<br>"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken," she said.

We were standing at the door to a room, where 'Merry Christmas Everybody' was blaring out at full volume, and everyone was dancing, drinking, eating and laughing. We walked in, and I stiffened, scanners picking something up. No, it can't be, I thought, dismissing it. Then it came again, stronger. A radio wave. Almost like a command signal.  
>"You had the reception without me?" Donna said.<br>"Donna... what happened to ya?" a man asked. I assumed it was thr groom, Lance.  
>Donna raised her voice a notch. "You had the reception without me?" she asked.<br>There was an awkward pause.  
>{Doctor,} I sent.<br>{Not now Shadow,} he sent.  
>"Hello! I'm the Doctor," he said aloud.<br>"They had the reception without me," Donna said, turning to him. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the signal, but it was gone already.  
>"Yes, I gathered," the Doctor said.<br>"Well, it was all paid for - why not?" a blonde woman said.  
>"Thank you, Nerys," Donna snapped.<br>An olderish woman approached Donna. "Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know-" the woman ranted.  
>The whole room started talking at the same time, until all I could hear was an incomprehensible babble of voices.<br>Then Donna burst into tears, and they stopped. Lance hugged her and she cried into his shoulder. Everyone applauded, and Donna winks at the Doctor through her fake tears. He smirked.  
>The reception party continued as before, except now Donna had joined the dancing. The Doctor was leaning against the bar, and I thought, he can't get into too much trouble here. I went out into the hall, to try and pick up on that signal again.<br>I stood in the hall, scanners set to maximum, for 18 minutes, before I picked up the signal again. I opened my eyes, gasping as I realised what was in orbit above the Earth.  
>"Gods help us all," I whispered. I turned, running back into the reception room.<br>{DOCTOR!} I yelled.  
>{Not now Shadow!} he yelled back.<br>I spotted him by the christmas tree, ushering people away from the tree.  
>"Get away from the tree!" he yelled.<br>"Don't touch the trees!" Donna yelled.  
>"Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!" the Doctor shouted.<br>"Out! Lance, tell them!" Donna said.  
>"Stay away from the tree!" the Doctor said. "Stay away from the tree!"<br>"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot!" Donna's mother said. I bristled. "Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!"  
>She trailed off the as the baubles floated away from the tree in some kind of weird dance. The Doctor watched them distrustfully as they hovered above everyone's heads. Everyone was chattering excitedly until they started dive-bombing around the room and causing small explosions. Everyone started screaming and running for cover. Donna pulled Lance down to hide under a table with her. I ducked behind a bunch of different objects, trying to reach my Doctor. A ball tried to run into me, but I caught it, and threw it back out, backing it into the wall, where it exploded.<br>"Oi!" I heard the Doctor say. I poked my head up to see him at the DJ's stand. "Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver... (into the microphone) ... don't let him near the sound system," he said. My eyes widened, and I ducked. There was a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound. I covered my ears, screaming. The noise stopped, and I stood shakily.  
>The Doctor picks up the consoles which the Santas were using.<br>I stormed up to the Doctor. "Are you trying to kill me? Sonic waves amplified at that level- I have electronic parts you know!" I raged at him.  
>"Look at that - remote control for the decorations," he showed Donna the hand held consoles. "But there's a second remote control for the robots. They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession," he said.<br>"Oh, yeah, abot that, Doctor, we need to-"  
>"Not now Shadow," he said.<br>"Never mind all that, you're a doctor - people have been hurt," Donna said.  
>"Nah, they wanted you alive, look they're not active now," he said, throwing her a bauble.<br>"All I'm saying - you could help," Donna said.  
>"Gotta think of the bigger picture... there's still a signal!" he said.<br>"Yes, a signal, Doctor-" I started.  
>He was already gone, running outside.<br>"There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force," he said.  
>"Yes, Doctor, please listen to-" I pleaded.<br>"Shadow, not now!"  
>"But why is it me? What have I done?" Donna said.<br>I snapped. "LISTEN TO ME!" I yelled. He turned, surprised.  
>"Now I have something very, very important to tell you," I said, poking him in the chest with my index finger, making him back up a step. "So don't 'Not now Shadow' me, just stop talking, and LISTEN!" I pressed my face right up against his, glaring.<br>"I'm listening," he said.  
>I backed up, breathing more steadily. "Good. I know what is controlling the robo-force," I said. "I picked up a signal, coming from a ship in low-orbit around the Earth." I stopped. "And I know what's on board," I said, looking up.<br>"What is it?" Donna aske.  
>"I don't know the proper name for the species. But the Doctor does." I looked at him. "The Galva Neertan government gave me to you as a gift, in thanks, you remember?" I asked.<br>He stared at me in horror. "Because I saved them from the Demons," he said. I nodded.  
>"Well, what are these Demons?" Donna demanded.<br>"The Racnoss," the Doctor said, his eyes not leaving mine. "And that would explain this outburst, if the Racnoss are right above us. The Galva Neertans were harvested like cattle for thousands of years by a renegade group of Racnoss, I thought they were the last survivors since the Dark Times. It's an instinct to a Galva Neertan to run, and hide when the Racnoss come knocking. The deepest fear there is for them." He stepped forward. "It would override the chip inhibiting emotions. But the only emotions popping up would be deep, animalistic instincts. Fear. Anger. Hate. All the monsters under the bed." He held my face, and I twitched as he moved his index fingers to my temples, looking me in the eyes.  
>"I am so sorry Shadow," he said. I felt him in my mind, and then I collapsed.<p>

He caught her before she could hit the ground.  
>"What did you do?" Donna asked.<br>"I just put her to sleep," he said, easing her to the ground.  
>"Why'd you do that?" she asked.<br>"Because the Racnoss and the Galva Neertans go way back. The protective instincts programmed into her would kick in big time, and would be amplified by her natural fear of the Racnoss. She would knock me out cold and haul me away from here tied up in a sack if I let her."  
>Donna looked a bit rattled. "Racnoss are aliens?" she said as he picked Shadow up again, heading back into the building.<br>"Open that door," he said, nodding towards them. "What are we doing with her?" Donna asked.  
>"I'm putting her in the Tardis. She'll be safe there.<br>"How long's she gonna be out for?" Donna asked.  
>"Not horribly long. Less than a day," he said.<br>She looked at him funnily. "You knocked her out using telepathy-stuff, and you don't know how long she's gonna be asleep for?" she asked skeptically.  
>The Doctor just shrugged (As much as you can shrug while carrying someone) as he walked down the hall to the Tardis.<p>

I opened my eyes, and jumped up, racing through the halls of the Tardis. That was not fair. He was going to kill us both.  
>I ran out of the Tardis, bowling someone over. I ignored their yelps of protest, having spotted Donna.<br>"Donna, where's the Doctor?" I asked.  
>She laughed. I stared at her. "It's not funny, where is he?" I asked. She laughed harder, pointing at my feet. I looked down.<br>"You're standing on my collar," the Doctor said, though his voice was muffled from the snow he was being held face down in. I quickly removed my foot from his collar.  
>"Now that your shadow's broken the ice, I'll tell I will do: Christmas dinner. Oh, come on," she said.<br>He stood, straightening his collar. "I don't do that sort of thing," he said.  
>{Broke what ice?} I asked.<br>{I asked her along, and she said no,} he sent.  
>{Oh,} I sent back.<br>"You did it last year, you said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty," she said.  
>"Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And... don't say I'm a Martian. (indicates TARDIS) I just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute," he said.<br>{Liar,} I accused.  
>{I can always say it was accidental,} he said.<br>He walked over to the console, and pushed a few buttons.  
>"Doctor! Doctor!" we heard Donna yelling from outside.<br>The Doctor turned off the Tardis and popped his head outside the door.  
>"Blimey, you can shout," he said.<br>"Am I ever gonna see you again?" I couldn't see her, but I heard her.  
>"If I'm lucky," he said.<br>{Nice one,} I complimented.  
>"Just... promise me one thing; find someone," Donna said.<br>"I don't need anyone," he said.  
>"Yes, you do. Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you. And your Shadow doesn't do that.<br>"Yeah." He paused. "Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just... be magnificent," he said.  
>I heard her laugh. "I think I will, yeah," she said.<br>The Doctor closed the Tardis door, and started towards the console.  
>"Doctor?" Donna said.<br>"Oh, what is it now?" he said in mock exasperation. "That friend of yours... what was her name?" Donna asked.  
>"Her name was Rose," he said, pain evident in his voice. I stopped. He'd lost Rose. I remembered that. But there was something else. A little nagging feeling. Like I was missing something. Or I couldn't remember. I shook it off, shaking my head to clear it. But it was still there. A tug in the back of my head. I sat, thinking, because if I didn't remember, it'd be bugging me day in and day out. I thought as the Doctor hovered around the console, trying to decide where to go. What was it? What was I missing.<br>Jake.  
>I stopped, holding onto that. I scrabbled around a bit more, trying to figure out what that meant. But there wasn't anything else. There was just a name.<p>

Jake.


	16. Smith And Jones

We were in a hospital. I had my Shadow Device on, because there was an annoying red-haired nurse who kept kicking me out of the hospital whenever I turned it off. The Doctor was in bed, wearing pajamas that made me think of toothpaste.  
>{I am not looking for trouble,} he sent for the hundredth time. This arguement was going in circles.<br>{We did not have to come to this hospital, you did not have to check youself in,} I sent. {You are looking for trouble, plain and simple as that.}  
>{No, there are odd energy sigantures-}<br>{They almost certainly mean trouble,} I sent.  
>{-all over this place, I had to come and see,} he finished.<br>"Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" a man asked, walking up to the bed, trailed by a group of men and women.  
>"Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah," the Doctor said.<br>"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me," the man said to a young woman.  
>"That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" Jones asked.<br>"Sorry?" the Doctor asked.  
>"On Chancery Street this morning. You came up to me and took your tie off," Jones said.<br>"Really? What did I do that for?" the Doctor asked.  
>"I don't know, you just did," Jones asked.<br>"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses," the Doctor said.  
>"Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?" she asked.<br>"No, not any more. Just me," he replied.  
>"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones," the man said.<br>"Sorry. Right," Jones said. She put her stethoscope to the Doctor's chest, and looked puzzled. She moved the stethoscope to his other heart, and I stiffened, getting ready to run with him if they started trying to dissect him. The Doctor winked at her.  
>"I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" the man asked.<br>"Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?" Jones asked.  
>"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart," the man said. He picked up the chart, and received an electric shock. He dropped it.<br>"That happened to me this morning," Jones said. The Doctor watched them closely.  
>"I had the same thing on the door handle," a man said.<br>"And me, on the lift," said another woman.  
>"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by - anyone?" the man asked. I had a thought, and peeked at his nametag. Mr. Stoker.<br>"Benjamin Franklin," the Doctor said.  
>"Correct!" Mr. Stoker said.<br>"My mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked..  
>{Not now, Doctor,} I sent.<br>"Quite..." Mr. Stoker said.  
>"... and then I got electrocuted," the Doctor continued.<br>Mr. Stoker coughed. "Moving on," he said. "I think perhaps a visit from a psychiatrist," he said softly. The Doctor smirked.  
>{That was not cute,} I sent.<br>{You're just cranky,} he said.  
>{Was it me, or did Miss Jones look very familiar? Like we'd met her before,} I sent.<br>{I don't know, we could have done,} he replied. I sighed in boredom, and sat in the corner glumly. Outside, it started to rain. I stared up at the ceiling, noticing the lights flickering.  
>"Yeeeeeeeee!" I yelled, jumping up, every hair on my head standing erect. "Doctor, the energy signatures just went through the roof," I said aloud.<br>"Yes," I can tell from looking at you," he said, staring at a spot a few feet above my head. I realized he was looking at my hair, and I patted it down.  
>"Static electricity, tons of it," the Doctor said, still staring at my hair.<br>"Hey, I told you before, you're not allowed in here," the red-haired nurse said, frowning at me. She looked quite funny with her hair standing up. I didn't laugh at her though. I placed my hands on my hips and glared at her. "Go and get security again then, this time, I NEED to stay, because there is a possible-" I was thrown to the ground as the whole place shook violently. The lights went out, and I hit my head on something hard.  
>The shaking stopped, and the lights came back on. I stood, groaning, hand going to my head. There was already a lump.<br>"Doctor, are you alright?" I asked.  
>"Yes, I am," he said, standing.<br>"All right, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out," Jones said, coming into the room.  
>The Doctor was watching her. He pulled the curtain around his bed shut. I poked my head in.<br>{What-} I started, but I froze, popping my head back out and closing the curtains quickly.  
>"Sorry," I said out loud, closing our link.<br>"But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?" Jones was saying.  
>The Doctor pulled aside the bed-curtain, now fully dressed in a blue suit. "Very good point! Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?" he asked Jones.<br>"Martha," she replied.  
>"And it was Jones, wasn't it?" he said. She nodded.<br>"Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?" the Doctor asked.  
>{Force Shield probably,} I sent.<br>{I know that, I want to see if she can imagine.}  
>"We can't be!" said the woman who had gotten a shock in the lift.<br>"Obviously we are so don't waste my time," the Doctor said, turning back to Martha. "Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...?"  
>"By the patients' lounge, yeah," she said.<br>"Fancy going out?" he said.  
>"Okay," Martha replied.<br>"We might die," the Doctor said.  
>"We might not," Martha said.<br>"Good! C'mon. Not her, she'd hold us up," he said gesturing to the other woman.  
>The Doctor and I followed Martha to the patients' lounge and pushed open the doors out into the open.<br>"We've got air! How does that work?" Martha asked.  
>"Just be glad it does," he said.<br>"I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really ... really.." Martha trailed off.  
>"You okay?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Yeah," she replied.  
>"Sure?" he asked.<br>"Yeah," she said.  
>"Want to go back in?" he asked.<br>"No way. I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same - it's beautiful," Martha.  
>"You think?" he asked.<br>"How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!" she said.  
>{She is an optimist,} I sent.<br>"Standing in the earthlight," the Doctor said, ignoring my comment.  
>"What do you think happened?" Martha asked.<br>"What do you think?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben - Christmas - those Cybermen things. I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home," Martha said.<br>{Addy, she was one of the personel at Torchwood,} I remembered. {That's why Martha looks familiar.}  
>"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. He was remembering killing Addy.<br>"Yeah," Martha said.  
>"I was there. In the battle," he said.<br>"I promise you, Mr Smith, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way," Martha said.  
>"It's not Smith, that's not my real name," the Doctor said.<br>"Who are you, then?" Martha asked.  
>"I'm the Doctor," he said.<br>"Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it, then, Doctor Smith?" she asked.  
>I smirked. "Just the Doctor," he said.<br>"How do you mean, just the Doctor?" Martha asked.  
>"Just... the Doctor," he said.<br>"What, people call you 'the Doctor'?" she asked.  
>"Yeah," he said.<br>"Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title," Martha said.  
>"Well, I'd better make a start, then. Let's have a look." He picked up a pebble and threw it towards the sky. There was a visible ripple as it bounced off, almost hitting me in the face. I caught it before it could hit me.<br>"There must be some sort of Force Shield keeping the air in," he said.  
>{That would have to be at least a Class 10 Force Shield,} I sent. {Either type A, like mine, or type M.}<br>"If that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?" Martha asked.  
>"How many people in this hospital?" the Doctor asked.<br>"I don't know, a thousand?" she replied.  
>"One thousand people. Suffocating," he said. {Shadow, stop breathing,} he sent. I complied, turning on the Oxygen Filter.<br>{It won't make much difference,} I sent.  
>{It'll make a little bit of difference,} he sent back.<br>"Why would anyone do that?" she asked.  
>"Head's up! Ask them yourself," he said There were ships descending to land on the surface of the moon. They landed, and the occupants began marching towards the hospital.<br>"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens," Martha said.  
>{Judoon,} I sent.<br>"Judoon," the Doctor said in the exact same instant.

"Bo sco fo do no kro blo co sho ro!" The chief Judoon said, having removed the helmet he wore (Assuming it was a him. It is almost impossible to tell the differences in gender by just looking at a Judoon's face).  
>{Articulate race,} I commented.<br>{Hmm,} he sent back.  
>The Doctor and Martha were crouching behind some fake plants, on a walkway above the lobby. I was standing next to them, Shadow Device active.<br>"We are citizens of planet earth. We welcome you in peace," a man said. It was one of the men I'd seen earlier by the Doctor's bed. Not Mr. Stoker, the one who had gotten a shock on the door handle.  
>The chief Judoon pushed him against the wall and shone a blue light in his face.<br>"Please don't hurt me, I was just trying to help, I'm sorry, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me," the man said.  
>The Judoon played his words back on Dermacan Translator Device. Fancy pants.<br>"Language assimilated. Designation Earth English. You will be catalogued," the Judoon said. He scanned the man, using a handheld scanner device, standard issue. He marked the back of the man's hand with a black X. "Category: human. Catalogue all suspects," he said to his platoon.  
>They started scanning people, checking their species, then marking the right hand of each with a cross.<br>"Oh, look down there, you've got a little shop. I like a little shop," the Doctor said, pointing.  
>{Doctor, there is a time and a place-}<br>{Oh, don't be a crab,} he said.  
>"Never mind that! What are Judoon?" Martha asked.<br>"Galactic police. Well, police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs," the Doctor said.  
>"And they brought us to the moon?" Martha asked.<br>"Neutral territory. According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated us. That rain? Lightning? That was them, using an H2O scoop," the Doctor said.  
>"What's that about 'galactic law'? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?" Martha asked.<br>"No. But I like that. Good thinking. No, it's more simple. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for me," he said.  
>"Why?" Martha asked. He looked at her. "Oh, you're kidding me," she said. He raised an eyebrow.<br>"Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that," she said.  
>"Come on, then," he said, leaving.<p>

The Doctor was examining a computer with his sonic screwdriver. Martha came into the room.  
>"They've reached third floor. What's that thing?" Martha asked.<br>"Sonic screwdriver," he said.  
>"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!" she said, sounding a bit annoyed.<br>"No, really, it is. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look," he said.  
>{Why don't you tell her it's a Sonic Probe?} I asked.<br>{It's a screwdriver!} he protested.  
>"What else have you got? A laser spanner?" she asked.<br>"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman," he said, slapping the computer. "Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. Cause I was just travelling past, I swear, I was just wandering, I wasn't looking for trouble, honestly, I wasn't, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's plasma coils, been building up for two days now, so I checked in, I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above," he rambled.  
>{I told you to leave,} I stated.<br>"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked.  
>"Something that looks human, but isn't," he replied.<br>"Like you. Apparently," she said.  
>{She doesn't think you are an alien life form,} I said.<br>{Keep stating the obvious Shadow, it reallly helps,} he sent.  
>{I'm not falling for that again,} I sent, knowing that he was trying to use sarcasm against me.<br>"Like me. But not me," he said to Martha.  
>"Haven't they got a photo?" Martha asked.<br>"Might be a shape-changer," the Doctor said.  
>"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?" Martha asked.<br>"If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution," the Doctor said.  
>"All of us?" Martha asked.<br>"Oh yes. If I can find this thing first... Oh! Just that they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever," he said, running his hand through his hair.  
>{They're either thick, or clever, make up your mind,} I sent.<br>"What are we looking for?" Martha asked.  
>"I don't know. Any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up," he said, fishing around behind the monitor.<br>"Just keep working. I'll go ask Mr Stoker, he might know." Martha said.  
>He fumbled with the cords behine the monitor, and then cursed, moving underneath the desk to work.<br>"Oh come on!" he yelled after a few minutes.  
>I bent over to peek under the desk. He'd gotten himself tangled up in the wires.<br>{Never work on electronics when you're frustrated,} I sent.  
>{Helpful Shadow,} he sent sourly.<br>{Do you need help?} I offered.  
>{No, I've got it,} he sent, struggling to get out of the wires.<br>I watched for a few minutes. {You're just making it worse,} I sent.  
>"Arhhggllre," he said.<br>I stared. {Was that Galifreyan?" I asked.  
>{No. I've got wires around my neck,} he sent, his ears a bright red shade.<br>{Hold still,} I sent.  
>I reached over, and unplugged the cords, pulling them off him. He crawled out from under the desk, and stood.<br>"Thanks, he said.  
>He plugged the cords back in, and I peeked out into the hall.<br>He sighed. "It's useless, let's go," he said.  
>We walked out into the hall, and turned the corner. Martha barreled into us.<br>"I found her," she said breathlessly.  
>"You what?" the Doctor asked.<br>{Doctor, Slab,} I said, quickly scanning the 'man' who was chasing Martha.  
>"Run!" he yelled. He took Martha's hand and we ran.<br>We ran down the stairs, followed by the Slab. Then we ran into the Judoon coming up, and dodged out a doorway on the fourth floor.  
>We ran faster, the Slab hot on our tail, skidding around corners and then into the radiology room.<br>The Doctor closed and locked the door in the Slab's face.  
>"When I say 'now', press the button," the Doctor said.<br>"I don't know which one," Martha said.  
>"Find out!" the Doctor said.<br>He used his sonic screwdriver on some of the machinery. Martha want for the Operator's Manual. I looked at the controls, and sent the image of them to the Doctor.  
>{Which button?} I sent urgently.<br>"The big yellow one," he yelled. The Slab broke down the door, and I let Martha move to press the button.  
>"Now!" the Doctor yelled She pressed the button, and he zapped the Slab with radiation, his skeleton visible. The Slab fell inert.<br>"What did you do?" Martha said.  
>"Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead," he said.<br>{IT was never alive,} I sent.  
>"Isn't that likely to kill you?" Martha asked.<br>"Nah, it's only radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it," he said.  
>He started bouncing and hopping, and I watched, fascinated.<br>"If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it..." He started shaking his foot. "Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out, ah, ah, ah, ah. It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Ah - hold on," he said, throwing his shoe into the dustbin. "Done," he said.  
>{Was that a Galifreyan Ritual?} I asked,<br>"You're completely mad," Martha said.  
>"Right. I look daft with one shoe," he said. He removed the other one, and it went the way of the first. "Barefoot on the moon!" he said, wiggling his toes around.<br>Martha walked over to the Slab)  
>"So what is that thing? And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?" Martha asked.<br>"It's just a Slab. They're called 'Slabs'. Basic slave drones, see? Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish," the Doctor said.  
>"It came with that woman, Mrs. Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant," Martha said.<br>{Doctor,} I said, tapping on his shoulder.  
>"Yeah?" he asked aloud. I handed him the remains of his sonic screwdriver.<br>"My sonic screwdriver," he said, looking at it.  
>"She was one of the patients, but -" Martha said.<br>"My sonic screwdriver!" the Doctor said again.  
>"She had a straw like some kind of vampire-"<br>"I loved my sonic screwdriver!" the Doctor said.  
>"Doctor!" Martha said.<br>He turned to her. "Sorry," he said. He tossed the sonic screwdriver away, and smiled. "You called me 'Doctor'," he said.  
>"Anyway! Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood," Martha said.<br>"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless - no. Yes, that's it, wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it," the Doctor said. He turned to where I was standing. "Shadow, can you run a scan, see if you can locate her?" he asked.  
>Martha was staring at him. "What are you looking at me like that for?' he asked.<br>She pointed to where I was. "You're talking to air," she said. He looked at me, confused.  
>{Shadow Device,} I sent.<br>"Shadow, turn that thing off, you don't need it," he said.  
>I turned it off. "I may have needed it Doctor, there are Judoon, and if that nurse tries to throw me out again I may strangle her," I said aloud.<br>Martha stared at me open-mouthed. She pointed. "Where'd she come from?" she asked.  
>"She was there all along. Perception Filter. I already knew she was there, so I could see her, but you couldn't," the Doctot explained.<br>Martha nodded. "Okay," she said.  
>The Doctor turned back to me. "Anyway, scans?" he asked. I nodded, scanning the building.<br>"There are 837 humans, 300 Judoon, 1 Galifreyan, and 1 Galva Neertan currently in the hospital," I said. "Nothing else, except some insects, but I don't think you need that statistic."  
>"So she assimilated Mr Stoker's blood, mimicking the morphology, so she registers as human. If she registers as human to your scanners, the Judoon will get the same result. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!" he said, running out into the hall. I activated my Shadow Device, and followed, Martha close behind.<p>

The Doctor and Martha were hiding behind a water cooler, and I was standing next to them. A Slab walked past.  
>"That's the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs," the Doctor said.<br>"You too?" Martha asked.  
>"What?" he asked.<br>She nodded to where I was standing.  
>"Well her. Isn't she like your partner of something?" she asked.<br>"Uh. Humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions. Come on," he said, getting up.  
>"I like that. "Humans." I'm still not convinced you're an alien," Martha said.<br>We stepped into the hall, right in front of a Judoon, who scanned the Doctor.  
>"Non-human," he said.<br>"Oh my God, you really are!" Martha said.  
>"And again!" the Doctor yelled, running.<br>The Judoon shot after us. We went up stairs, and managed to lock a door behind us, emerging in a corridor where people were falling to the ground, gasping for breath.  
>"They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky," he said.<br>Martha saw the girl who had urged her not to open the window, and stopped by her.  
>"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked.<br>"Not enough for all these people. We're going to run out," she replied.  
>"How are you feeling? Are you all right?" the Doctor asked Martha.<br>"I'm running on adrenaline," Martha said.  
>"Welcome to my world," the Doctor said.<br>"What about the Judoon?" Martha asked.  
>"Ah, great big lung reserves, it won't slow them down. Where's Mr Stoker's office?" the Doctor asked.<br>"It's this way," Martha said.

"She's gone! She was here," Martha said. We were in Mr. Stoker's office. The Doctor was examining Mr. Stoker.  
>"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right. She's a plasmavore," he said.<br>"What was she doing on Earth?" Martha asked.  
>"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on," the Doctor said, going to the door.<br>"Wait a minute," Martha said.  
>She went to Mr Stoker and closed his eyes, then walked out the door with the Doctor.<br>{Did you see that Shadow?} he asked. {That was so human. It's why I like this species.}  
>{They are unique,} I allowed.<br>"Think, think, think. If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" the Doctor said aloud. He looked at the MRI sign. "Aah. She's as clever as me. Almost."  
>"Find the non-human. Execute," came Judoon voices from around the corner.<br>"Stay here. I need time. You're going to have to hold them up," the Doctor said, turning to Martha.  
>"How do I do that?" Martha asked.<br>"Martha, forgive me for this. It's to save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing," the Doctor said.  
>He kissed her, then ran off down the hall. I followed.<br>{Shadow, I need you to do something,} he sent.  
>{What?} I asked.<br>{Teleport to the Judoon ships. Send me the images of the controls, and I'll see if I can get you to sent the hospital back to Earth.}  
>{And just leave you here?} I asked. {That's not happening.}<br>He stopped turning to me. {If the hospital is sent back to Earth, the Judoon will have no jurisdiction over it. We can evacuate the hospital, and find the Plasmavore ourselves,} he sent. He paused. {Or you could wait until we all run out of air, and I end up suffocating to death,} he sent.  
>{Fine, I'm going,} I sent, teleporting. I pressed the button on the Force Shield generator onmy wrist, before teleporting just outside the Judoon ship, feeling the walls to test how thick they were. It would not be good if I ended up half-stuck in a wall. I teleported again, inside the ship this time.<br>{Okay, Doctor, what am I looking for?} I tried to send, only to have it rebound at me. Confused, I prodded our link. He was blocking it. I teleported back into the hospital where I'd left him, but he was gone.  
>"DOCTOR!" I yelled, going back down to try and find him.<br>I ran through the halls for a few minutes, skidding to a stop as I had an idea. I scanned again, looking specifically for Galifreyan life forms. There were none. I scanned again, with the same result.  
>"No, that can't be right," I said, scannign a third time. This time I picked up a Galifreyan life form. I sighed in relief, and teleported into the room where the life form was located.<p>

I teleported into the middle of a scene. Martha was standing in front of the Judoon, staring at something out of my line of sight on the floor. The Judoon had their guns trained on a woman, and the woman was snarling at them. I couldn't see the Doctor. I scanned again. The Galifreyan life form in the room was the woman. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what must have happened.  
>"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab - stop them!" the woman said.<br>I ducked as the Slab shot. The Judoon shot back, and the Slab disintegrated.  
>"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution," the Judoon Chief said.<br>"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!" the woman said.  
>She screamed as they shot her. I looked between the Judoon's feet, and saw the Doctor, lying on the floor.<br>"Case closed, the Judoon chief said.  
>"What did she mean, "burn with me"? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something," Martha said from the Doctor's side.<br>"Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse," the Judoon said. I stared at the Doctor's body numbly. He was dead. I had one hour to live.  
>"Well, do something! Stop it!" Martha said.<br>"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate," the Judoon Chief said.  
>"You can't just leave it. What's it going to do?" Martha asked.<br>"All units withdraw," the Judoon said.  
>They departed. A sign flashed: MAGNETIC OVERLOAD.<br>Martha ran out after them, and I sat on the floor. Now what? I had no idea what to do for 1 hour until I dropped dead. Martha ran back in, and went over to the Doctor. She put her hands in his chest, and pumped, up and down, counting to five. When she reached five, she stopped, and pressed her mouth to his.  
>"What are you doing?" I asked. Martha ignored me, pumping his chest.<br>"One two three four five. One two three four five," she mumbled to herself. She stopped. "Two hearts!," she said. She started again, this time pumping over one heart, and then the other.  
>The Doctor coughed, and Martha fell to the ground.<br>{Doctor?} I asked.  
>{Did they get her?} he asked.<br>{Yes,} I sent.  
>"The scanner. She did something," Martha said.<br>Coughing, the Doctor crawled toward the controls. I helped him over.  
>He unplugged a fed cable, and the machine shut down, before he collapsed.<br>I looked around in desperation. They didn't have enough air, and the Doctor needed more than the humans because he had two hearts. I slapped his cheeks lightly.  
>{Doctor, wake up,} I sent. He didn't respond. I grabbed his ankles and dragged him out into the hallway, unwilling to leave him. I looked out a window, and smiled in relief. It was raining outside. Raining on the moon.<br>There was a flash of white light outside, and the static energy flared again. When the light was gone, I looked out the window again, and saw other buildings through it. I ran over and opened it to let in air more quickly, before going back to sit next to the Doctor whie I waited for him to wake up.

I waited in the Tardis for the Doctor to come back in. I had watched him construct a new sonic screwdriver out of things around the Tardis. He had decided that since Martha had saved his life, and therefore mine as well, that he was going to offer her a trip in time and space. Not a bad reward.  
>He was outside, talking to her. And I was waiting.<br>After a few minutes, he came back in, alone. He went to the control console, and pushed a few buttons,before running back out. Then he came back in, with his tie off. He pushed some more buttons, and ran out again.  
>A few minutes later, the door opened, and Martha poked her head in, her mouth falling open.<br>"Oh, no, no," she said, popping her head out again. Her voice drifted in form outside. "But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood.""  
>She knocked on it.<br>She walked back into the Tardis. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside," Martha said.  
>"Is it? I hadn't noticed," the Doctor said, after mouthing the last part of her sentence along with her. He shut the door behind her, threw his coat aside. "All right, then, let's get going," he said, walking over to the console.<br>"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?" Martha asked.  
>"Just me," the Doctor said.<br>"All on your own?" Martha asked.  
>"Well, there's always Shadow." He nodded to where I was sitting, Shadow Device dectivated. "And sometimes I have guests. I mean some friends, travelling alongside. I had - there was recently a friend of mine. Rose, her name was, Rose. And... we were together. Anyway," he said.<br>"Where is she now?" Martha asked.  
>"With her family. Happy. She's fine. Not that you're replacing her," He said, pointing at her.<br>"Never said I was," Martha said.  
>"Just one trip to say 'thanks', you get one trip, then back home. I'd rather be on my own," he said.<br>"You're the one that kissed me," Martha pointed out.  
>"That was a genetic transfer," the Doctor said.<br>"And if you will wear a tight suit..."  
>"Now... don't!" he said.<br>"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date..."  
>"Stop it," he said.<br>"For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans," Martha said.  
>"Good. Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomalizer. Fire up the helmic regulator. And finally - the hand brake. Ready?" he asked.<br>"No," Martha said.  
>"Off we go," he said, grinning.<br>He pulled the hand brake. The Tardis jolted and shook, and he fell over.  
>"Blimey, it's a bit bumpy," Martha said.<br>"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones," he said.  
>He shook her hand.<br>"It's my pleasure, Mr Smith," she said.


	17. The Shakespeare Code

"But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" Martha asked.  
>"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't wanna know. It just does. Hold on tight!" the Doctor replied.<br>He practically climbed onto the console to reach a button just below the rotor. Martha was knocked to the floor and the Doctor fell off the console. I clung onto the rail and managed to stay upright by turning on the neat boots I'd found in the storage. They had gravitational stabilisers, in the boots.  
>Martha stood. "Blimey! Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?" Martha asked.<br>"Yes, and I failed it," he said. Martha looked at me and I shrugged. He grabbed his coat. "Now, make the most of it," he said, handed her jacket to her. "I promised you one trip and one trip only. Outside this door..." he stopped at door and faced her. "Brave new world."  
>"Where are we?" Martha asked.<br>"Take a look," he said, opening the door. "After you."  
>Martha walked outside and onto an Elizabethan street at night full people milling about.<br>"Oh, you are kidding me. You are so kidding me. Oh, my God! We did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I gotta get used to this whole new language. When are we?" she asked.  
>The Doctor looked up and pulled her back as a second floor window opened, and a man dumped the contents of a bucket into the street.<br>"Mind the loo!" the man said.  
>"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that," the Doctor said.<br>"I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift at A&E," Martha said.  
>The Doctor started to walk away.<br>"But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?" Martha asked.  
>"Of course we can. Why do you ask?" the Doctor asked.<br>"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly; you change the future of the human race," Martha said.  
>"Well, tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?" the Doctor asked.<br>"What if, I dunno, what if I kill my grandfather?" Martha asked.  
>"You planning to?" the Doctor asked, looking sligtly alarmed.<br>"No," Martha said.  
>"Well, then," he said.<br>"This is London," Martha asked.  
>"I think so. Right about 1599," the Doctor said.<br>"Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?" Martha asked.  
>"Why would they do that?" he asked.<br>"Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed," Martha said.  
>"I'm not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me. Or you could take Shadow's approach if you have a-" he stopped walking and looked around. "Shadow?" he asked.<br>{I'm, here,} I sent.  
>"Turn that Perception Filter off, you don't need it," he said. I complied.<br>He and Martha resumed walking. "Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there," he said, pointing at a man shoveling manure. "They've got recycling."  
>"Water cooler moment," he said, pointing at two men chatting at a water barrel. We walked past a man preaching about the end of the world.<br>"... and the world will be consumed by flame!" he said.  
>{He has a nice outlook on life,} I sent sarcastically.<br>{Very good Shadow, you're learning,} the Doctor sent.  
>"Global warming," he said to Martha. "Oh, yes, and... entertainment! Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark right next to..." he took her hand and they ran around a corner, me following. "Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe; it's a tetradecagon — 14 sides — containing the man himself," he said.<br>"Whoa, you don't mean... is Shakespeare in there?" Martha asked.  
>"Oh, yes," he said. He held out his arm. "Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?" he asked.<br>Martha linked her arm with his. "Yes, Mr. Smith, I will," she said.  
>"When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare," the Doctor said.<br>"Then I could get sectioned!" Martha said excitedly.  
>{What is 'sectioned'?} I asked.<br>{It's a bit complicated, can I explain later?} he sent as he walked towards the theater with Martha.  
>{Fine,} I said, turning my Shadow Device on and following them.<p>

"That's amazing! Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah," Martha said. I neither agreed with, nor understood her opinion. I had stopped breathing at that point, and the rest was, frankly, was no concern of mine. It was neither hazardous nor beneficial to my Doctor's health, and, therefore, did not concern me.  
>"London never changes," the Doctor said.<br>"Where's Shakespeare? I wanna see Shakespeare," Martha said. "Author! Author!" she chanted with her fist in the air.  
>The Doctor looked at her.<br>""Do people shout that? Do they shout 'Author'?" Martha asked.  
>A man in crowd by Martha picked up the chant and it soon spread.<br>The Doctor looked around. "Well... they do now," he said.  
>A man who I assumed was Shakespeare came out and took an exaggerated bow and blew kisses. The audience went wild and cheered even nore loudly.<br>"He's a bit different from his portraits," Martha said interestedly.  
>"Genius. He's a genius - THE genius. The most human Human that's ever been. Now we're gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words," the Doctor said.<br>"Shut your big fat mouths!" Shakespeare said.  
>The audience laughed.<br>{Both beautiful and brilliant Doctor,} I sent.  
>"Oh, well," the Doctor said disappointedly.<br>"You should never meet your heroes," Martha said.  
>"You have excellent taste! I'll give you that," Shakespeare said, pointing to a man in the audience. "Oh, that's a wig!" he said.<br>"I know what you're all saying. 'Loves Labour's Lost', that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops! Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius," Shakespeare said,.  
>He bowed. I reeled as my scanners detected energy readings that went through the roof as Shakespeare jerked upright. My vision went black, and I collapsed.<p>

"I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of 'Loves Labour's Won'," Martha said.  
>"Exactly — the lost play. It doesn't exist — only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. No one knows why," the Doctor said.<br>"Have you got a mini-disk or something? We could tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint," Martha said.  
>He looked at her.<br>"No," he said.  
>"That would be bad?" Martha asked.<br>"Yeah. Yeah," the Doctor said.  
>"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?" Martha asked.<br>"Well, I was just gonna give you a quick little trip in the TARDIS but I suppose we could stay a bit longer," he said. "Shadow, could you run back to the Tardis and grab the physcic paper by any chance?' he asked. He stopped, turning. "Shadow?" he asked. He poked her mind, feeling nothing but darkness.  
>"What is it? Doctor?' Martha asked.<br>"Shadow is gone," he said, heading back to the theater.  
>"What do you mean, 'gone'?" Martha asked as they ran back into the theater. He turned to her.<br>"This happened before a while back. Shadow turned the Perception Filter on, and was rendered unconcious." He went up the stairs to where they had been sitting and started groping around on the ground. Martha hurried over to help.  
>They groped around for a few minutes. The Doctor, sat against the wall, and reached for Shadow through their link. Still just darkness.<br>"Doctor?' Martha asked.  
>He held a finger to his lips. "Shh," he said.<br>He poked the thing on the other side of the link that was Shadow's dormant conciousness. It moved about a bit. He poked it harder.

{Shadow, get up,} the Doctor sent me.  
>{Urg mendek vorte jhavelar navay?} I sent back a bit groggily. I paused, realizing I was thinking in Galva Neertan.<br>{Shadow, wake up,} he sent. I sat up slowly, head pounding. "And turn the Perception Filter OFF," he said aloud.  
>I did so, and he ran over. "What happened?' he asked, helping me up.<br>"Nayhoor Dyermyi, ma gyernai vistay dui-" I stopped. Martha looked at me open-mouthed, and the Doctor just put a hand under my chin, looking at my eyes.  
>"Your scanners picked up Sarionic energy, am I right?" he asked. I nodded.<br>"Sarionic energy, what's that?" Martha asked.  
>"The power of words," the Doctor said. "Come on. We're definitely staying a little while longer," he said.<br>"Why?" Martha asked.  
>"Because Sarionic energy has no place on Earth," the Doctor replied, walking out of the Theater, with me and Martha following close behind.<br>{Dyermyi, ma syouv orn styasair vimos yem,} I sent.  
>{We're not going anywhere until I find out why there's Sarionic energy here,} he sent back.<br>{Ta'in ve gourmnei zek tremni,} I sent.  
>{I'm not always looking for trouble, sometimes, I just need to go find out,} he sent back.<br>{Na, ta'in gourmnei zek tremni, veroustai ek tyeirm,} I sent back.

We walked into a place called the Elephant Inn.  
>"Hello!" the Doctor said, knocking on an open door, which led into a room containing Mr. Shakespeare. "Excuse me! I'm not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Oh no, no, no, no," Shakespeare said. "Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove—" He saw Martha standing behind the Doctor, and I turned my Perception Filter on.  
>{No, leave that OFF,} the Doctor sent at me. I sighed, and did so.<br>"Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me," Shakwspeare said to Martha. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go," he said to two other men in the room.  
>"Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muse," a woman said.<br>"Sweet lady," Shakespeare said to Martha as she sat at the table. "Such unusual clothes. So... fitted," he said.  
>"Um, verily, forsooth, egads," Martha said.<br>"No, no, don't do that. Don't," the Doctor told her. He pulled out the phsychic paper, showing it to Shakespeare. "I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and this is my companion, Miss Martha Jones, and our..." he looked at me. "Assistant," he decided.  
>"Interesting, that bit of paper. It's blank," Shakespeare said, pointing to the phsychic paper.<br>"Oh, that's... very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius," the Doctor said.  
>{Yenmeak,} I sent.<br>{Trust me, he is,} the Doctor sent back.  
>Martha peered at paper. "No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Martha Jones. It says so," Martha said.<br>"And I say it's blank," Shakespeare said.  
>"Psychic paper. Um, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch," the Doctor said to Martha.<br>He put the psychic paper away.  
>"Phsychic. Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"What did you say?" Martha asked.  
>"Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric..." Shakespeare rambled a bit.<br>"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Martha said.  
>"It's political correctness gone mad. Um, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia," the Doctor said.<br>"Jouvay snecteo nor," I said without thinking. Shakespeare stared at me, and then looked at the Doctor.  
>"She's from Freedonia too," Martha said.<br>"Is this Freedonia very far away?" Shakespeare asked.  
>"Excuse me!" someone said. I turned to see a man entering the room. He was one of those beings who possess great deals of excess mass.<br>"Hold hard a moment," he said, storming up to the table. "This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed. "  
>"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it 'round," Shakespeare said.<br>"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!" the man demanded.  
>"I can't," Shakespeare replied.<br>"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled," the man said.  
>"It's all go, 'round here, isn't it?" Martha asked.<br>"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, 'Love's Labours Won' will never be played," the man said.  
>He turned, and left the room.<br>Shakespeare stared after him for a minute, and then turned, and smiled at Martha.  
>"You'll have to excuse me fair lady. My pen calls," he said, getting up and leaving the room. Martha and the Doctor got upt to leave.<br>"Well, then... mystery solved. That's 'Love's Labours Won' over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know... more mysterious," Martha said.  
>My scanners went wild again, and I blacked out, again.<p>

I woke up with a ferocious headache.  
>{Ah, it lives,} the Doctor sent.<br>{What happened?} I asked.  
>{Oh, you can speak Earth English again. That's a good sign. The second dose you got of Sarionic energy must have knock you right again. And by the way, turn off your scanners so it doesn't happen again,} he sent.<br>I went ahead and turned off my scanners. That was, no scanners, no Shadow Device. I felt naked. I sat up from where I'd been laying on the floor on a cot. I was in a room with Martha. The door opened, and the Doctor stepped in.  
>"It's not exactly five-star, is it?" Martha asked the Doctor, not noticing that I was awake.<br>"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse," he said. I laid back down.  
>"I haven't even got a toothbrush," Martha said.<br>{You've got one,} I sent.  
>"Oh," the Doctor said, patting his pockets. He reached in and pulled out a toothbrush. "Contains Venusian spearmint," he said, handing it to Martha.<br>"So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed," Martha said.  
>"We'll manage. C'mon," the Doctor said, flopping down onto the bed.<br>"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's a little bit 'Harry Potter'," Martha said.  
>"Wait till you read Book Seven. Oh, I cried," the Doctor said.<br>{Speaking of that, you still haven't gotten around to teaching me the second half of the alphabet,} I sent.  
>{I'll get around to it,} he sent back.<br>"But is it real, though? I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it's real?" Martha asked.  
>"'Course it isn't!" the Doctor said.<br>"Well, how am I supposed to know? I've only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break," Martha said.  
>"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. Can't be. Are you gonna stand there all night?" he asked.<br>Martha went over and sat down on the bed next to him. "Budge up a bit, then," she said. The Doctor moved over.  
>"Sorry, there's not much room. Us two here, same bed. Tongues will wag," Martha said.<br>"There's such a thing as psychic energy, it's called properly Sarionic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that," the Doctor said to the roof, oblivious to Martha's previous statement. "Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that." He turned on on his side so he was facing Martha. "No. There's something I'm missing, Martha," he went on. She turned so they were face-to-face.  
>"Something really close, staring me right in the face and I can't see it. Rose would know. A friend of mine, Rose. Right now, she'd say exactly the right thing," he said. He turned so he was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling again. "Still, can't be helped. You're a novice, never mind. I'll take you back home tomorrow," the Doctor said.<br>"Great!" Martha said, sounding offended.  
>{Did I miss something?} I asked.<br>{Well, that Master of the Revels, Lynley? Right when you blacked out the second time, he drowned on dry land,} the Doctor sent.  
>{That was a very odd thing for him to do,} I sent.<br>Martha blew out the candle.  
>I was drifting off into sleep, when I was jerked awake by a scream. I sat up, and saw the Doctor run out the door. I leapt up and ran after him, Martha not far behind.<br>We ran into a room where Shakespeare was asleep at a desk, and the maid was lying on the floor. Shakespeare jerked awake as Martha ran to the window, and the Doctor examined the girl on the floor.  
>"Wha-? What was that?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"Her heart gave out. She died of fright," the Doctor said.  
>{Humans can die of fright?} I asked.<br>{Yes they can,} he sent back.  
>"Doctor?" Martha called from the window.<br>The Doctor moved over to join her at the window. "What did you see?" he asked.  
>"A witch," Martha replied.<p>

It was dawn. We were back in Shakespeare's room, around his desk. "Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit," Shakespeare said.  
>"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," the Doctor said.<br>"I might use that," Shakespeare said.  
>"You can't. It's someone else's," the Doctor said.<br>{Whose?} I asked.  
>{Dylan Thomas,} he replied distractedly.<br>"But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you," Martha said.  
>"You're accusing me?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"No, but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you've written about witches," Martha said.  
>"I have? When was that?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"Not, not quite yet," the Doctor said to Martha in a low voice.  
>"Peter Streete spoke of witches," Shakespeare said.<br>"Who's Peter Streete?" Martha asked.  
>"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe," Shakespeare said.<br>"The architect," the Doctor said. Then I actually heard something click in his head as he made a connection. "Hold on. The architect! The architect!" he slammed his fist on the table. "The Globe! Come on!" he said. He stood and ran out the door. Martha, Shakespeare and I followed.

We were in the Globe Theater. The Doctor was in the pit while Martha and Shakespeare were onstage. I was leaning against a pillar.  
>"The columns there, right? 14 sides. I've always wondered but I never asked... tell me, Will, why 14 sides?" the Doctor asked.<br>"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well," Shakespeare replied.  
>"Why does that ring a bell? 14..." the Doctor said, thinking.<br>"There are 14 lines in a sonnet," Martha said.  
>"So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design," he said. He began pacing.<br>"14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets…Oh, my head. Tetradecagon... think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!" he said.  
>{I will not even attempt to follow this,} I sent.<br>"This is just a theatre," Shakespeare said.  
>"Oh, but a theatre's magic, isn't it?" the You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis a the right time... Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy, change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that..."<br>"It's like you're police box. Small wooden box with all that POWER inside," Marta said.  
>"Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?" the Doctor asked.<br>"You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place... lost his mind," Shakespeare said.  
>"Why? What happened?" Martha asked.<br>"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled," Shakespeare said.  
>"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Bedlam," Shakespeare said.  
>"What's Bedlam?" Martha asked.<br>"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse," Shakespeare said.  
>"We're gonna go there. Right now. Come on," he said. He turned, walking out of the theater. Martha, Shakespeare and I followed.<br>Martha fell back to walk next to me.  
>"Have you been with him long? The Doctor?" she asked me.<br>I thought about it. "Not really," I said. About a year I suppose," I said.  
>"How'd you meet each other?" she asked.<br>"I was assigned to him," I said.  
>"Assigned?" she asked. I nodded.<br>Shakespeare joined us, and I dropped back to walk behind Martha.  
>"So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors," Shakespeare said to Martha.<br>"This country's ruled by a woman," Martha said.  
>"Ah, she's royal. That's God's business. Though you are a royal beauty," Shakespeare said.<br>Martha stopped, and I almost bumped into her. "Whoa, Nelly! I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country," Martha said.  
>"But Martha, this is Town," Shakespeare said.<br>"Come on. We can all have a good flirt later," the Doctor said.  
>"Is that a promise, Doctor?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"Oh, 57 academics just punched the air. Now move!" he said, resumoing his brisk pace. I ran up to walk behind him.  
>{This hospital, it is the same as the humans in Cardiff tried to put me in when I was wandering?} I asked.<br>{Well, they're supposed to serve the same purpose, but they're definitely different,} he sent.  
>{How?} I asked.<br>{You'll see when we get there,} he sent back.

We were in the hospital, and I was so glad that I had avoided capture those times. Loud screams and moans came from everywhere as the Doctor, Martha, Shakespeare and I were led through the halls by a man.  
>"Does my lord, Doctor, wish some entertainment while he waits? I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for ya. Bandog and Bedlam!" the man said.<br>"No, I don't!" the Doctor said, disgust dripping through our link.  
>{This is awful,} I said, looking around nervously, and wishing I could safely activate the Shadow Device.<br>"Wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the lady," the man said.  
>He walked away.<br>Martha turned to Shakespeare. "So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?" Martha asked.  
>{I thought the aim of a hospital was to improve the patient's health,} I sent the Doctor.<br>{It is. The methods for achieving that are just different in this time period,} he replied.  
>"Oh, and it's all so different in Freedonia," Shakespeare asked.<br>"But you're clever! Do you honestly think this place is any good?" Martha asked.  
>"I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose," Shakespeare said.<br>"Mad in what way?" Martha asked.  
>"You lost your son," the Doctor said softly.<br>"My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there," Shakespeare said.  
>"I didn't know. I'm sorry," Martha said.<br>"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be... oh, that's quite good," Shakespeare said.  
>"You should write that down," the Doctor said.<br>"Hm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?" Shakespeare said.  
>"This way, m'lord!" the man called, poking his head around a corner.<br>We walked down the hall to Peter Streete's cell. The man unlocked the door.  
>"They can be dangerous, m'lord. Don't know their own strength," the man said to the Doctor.<br>"I think it helps if you don't whip them! Now get out!" the Doctor snapped at him.  
>The man left and the Doctor approached Peter slowly.<br>"Peter? Peter Streete?" the Doctor asked.  
>"He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him," Shakespeare said.<br>The Doctor laid a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Peter?" he asked.  
>Peter's head jerked up and he looked at the Doctor with wild, glassy eyes. He looked like he wanted to speak, but couldn't.<br>The Doctor knelt down next to him, and placed his fingertips along Peter's face. I blocked our link so I wouldn't interfere with what he was doing.  
>"Peter, I'm the Doctor," he said. "Go into the past, one year ago. Let your mind go back, back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A winter's tale. Let go. Listen. That's it, just let go," he said, laying Peter down on his cot. "Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches," he said.<br>"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. THEIR design! The 14 walls — always 14. When the work was done," he laughed. "They sapped poor Peter's wits," he said.  
>"Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city?" he asked. He crouched down beside Peter. "Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me where were they?" he asked.<br>"All Hallows Street," the man said. A figure appeared next to the Doctor.  
>{Doctor, behind you,} I warned.<br>"Too many words," the woman said.  
>The Doctor went to stand beside Martha and Shakespeare.<br>"What the hell?" Martha said.  
>{Doctor, I know what that is,} I sent.<br>{Sarionic energy, of course!} he thought to himself.  
>"Just one touch of the heart," the woman said. She laid her hand on Peter's chest.<br>"No!" the Doctor yelled.  
>Peter screamed, and then was still.<br>"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!" Shakespeare said.  
>The woman straightened. "Who would be next, hmm? Just one touch. Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals," the woman said.<br>Martha shouted at the door. "Let us out! Let us out!" she yelled.  
>"That's not gonna work. The whole building's shouting that," the Doctor said.<br>"Who will die first, hmm?" the woman said.  
>"Well, if you're looking for volunteers," he said, walking towards the woman.<br>I stepped forward, and grabbed his arm. "No, you won't," I said.  
>{It's alright,} he sent.<br>{No it is't, you're going to be killed,} I sent.  
>{Just give me five minutes,} he sent. {If it looks like I'm about to be killed, go ahead and teleport. But not now,} he said. I nodded, but kept a grip on his arm, reaching my other arm back, and grasping Martha's hand. I looked at Shakespeare, and motioned for Martha to take his hand.<br>"Doctor, can you stop her?" Shakespeare asked.  
>"No mortal has power over me," the woman said.<br>"Oh, but there's a power in words. If I can find the right one — if I can just know you..." he trailed off.  
>"None on Earth has knowledge of us," the woman said.<br>"Then it's a good thing I'm here. Now think, think, think... Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy... ah, 14! That's it! 14! The 14 stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! Creature, I name you Carrionite!" he said.  
>The woman wailed and disappeared.<br>I sighed in relief, and released Martha's hand and the Doctor's arm.  
>"What did you do?" Martha asked.<br>"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic," the Doctor said.  
>"But there's no such thing as magic," Martha said.<br>"Well, it's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead," the Doctor explained.  
>"Use them for what?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"The end of the world," the Doctor said. "The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."  
>"Well, I'm going for real," Shakespeare said.<br>"But what do they want?" Martha asked.  
>"A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft," the Doctor said.<br>"But how?" Martha asked.  
>"I'm looking at the man with the words," the Doctor said.<br>"Me? But I've done nothing," Shakespeare said.  
>"Hold on, though. What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?" Martha asked Shakespeare.<br>"Finishing the play," Shakespeare said.  
>"What happens on the last page?" the Doctor asked.<br>"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual — except those last few lines. Funny thing is... I don't actually remember writing them," Shakespeare said.  
>"That's it. They used you. They gave you the final words. Like a spell, like a code. 'Love's Labours Won' — it's a weapon! The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that," he the Doctor said, turning to me. He took my hand.<br>"Martha, Will, let's get out of here," he said. I reached for Martha's hand, and she took it, before taking Shakespeare's hand.  
>"What are we doing?" Shakespeare asked.<br>I teleported into Shakespeare's room at the Elephant Inn.  
>The Doctor rushed over, and pulled out a desk drawer, looking through it as Shakespeare and Martha gaped at me.<br>"What did you just do?' Martha asked.  
>"Teleport," I said.<br>"Do you have a street map?" the Doctor asked Shakespeare. Shakespeare nodded, walking over to a dresser and pulling a map out of a drawer. The Doctor took it, examining it.  
>"All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!" The Doctor said.<br>"I'll do it," Shakespeare said. He shook the Doctor's hand. "All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing," he said.  
>"Oh, don't complain," Martha said.<br>"I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor," he said.  
>"Good luck, Shakespeare," the Doctor said, heading for the door. "Once more unto the breach!" he said.<br>"I like that. Wait a minute... that's one of mine," Shakespeare said.  
>The Doctor poked hi head around the door. "Oh, just shift!" he said. We ran out of the inn, and through the streets. The Doctor stopped on one.<br>"All Hallows Street, but which house?" he asked.  
>"The thing is, though... am I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me — I'm living proof," Martha said.<br>"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know! 'Back to the Future'! It's like 'Back to the Future'!" the Doctor said.  
>"The film?" Martha asked.<br>"No, the novelisation. Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history," the Doctor said.  
>"And he starts fading away," Martha said, a look of realisation settling on her face. "Oh my God, am I gonna fade?" she asked.<br>"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?" he asked.  
>I turned on my scanners to the lowest setting there was. I swayed, almost passing out. I grabbed Martha's shoulder to steady myself. I pointed at a house.<br>"The Sarionic energy is strongest over there," I said.  
>"Good Shadow," the Doctor said. He ran towards the house, and stopped, looking back at me.<br>{No Scanners, no Perception Filters, got it?} he sent.  
>{Yep,} I sent back, turning my scanners off.<br>We walked into the house, and up a flight of stairs to the second story.  
>A woman was standing in the center of the room, a different woman from the one we'd seen in Bethlam.<br>"I take it we're expected," the Doctor said.  
>"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time," the woman said. I stiffened.<br>{Wait Shadow,} the Doctor said.  
>"Right then, it's my turn," Martha said, stepping forward. "I know how to do this." She pointed at the woman. "I name thee, Carrionite," she said.<br>The woman did not seem to be affected.  
>"What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?" Martha asked the Doctor.<br>"The power of a name works only once. Observe," she said, pointing at Martha. "I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones," she said.  
>Martha collapsed and the Doctor lowered her to the ground.<br>"What have you done?" he asked.  
>"Only sleeping, alas. Curious, the name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time," she said. She turned her gaze to me. "And for you," she said. She pointed at me, and I stared, transfixed. "Jhem nevir tyorinth vertu, ma kyar ta'in Tei Neferati," she said in Galva Neertan. The world went black.<p>

I was dead, I knew that. But I wasn't where I should be. I was still half in the world of the living. I drifted. I have no idea for how long. There was nothing that I could percieve. There wasn't even black darkness. It was indescribable.  
>And then there was a voice. I could barely hear it. But it was calling to me.<br>{Tei,} it said. I tried to see where it was coming from, but there was just nothing.  
>{Tei, I need you. Come back,} it said.<br>{I can't,} I sent. {Where am I?}  
>{Concentrate on me. Can you feel me?} the voice asked.<br>I concentrated. There was, something, but it was so far away.  
>{Yes. But you're so far away,} I sent. There was no reply.<br>{Where are you?} I asked.  
>I felt something pulling on me. I struggled against it.<br>{No, come with me,} the voice said.  
>{Who are you?} I asked.<br>{Your Doctor Tei. Come back with me,} the voice said.  
>{Why?} I asked.<br>There was a pause. {Because I need you,} the voice said. I was being pulled again, but I let the voice pull me this time. I was jerked back to reality very suddenly. Someone was slapping my face.  
>"Tei? Can you hear me? Tei, come on," it said.<br>I opened my eyes, and looked up to see the Doctor above me, Martha standing behind him.  
>He smiled in relief. "Are you okay?" he asked.<br>I drew in a shaky breath. "Was I dead?" I asked.  
>"Not quite," he replied. "The link was holding you in place, not really dead, but more... displaced I suppose," he said.<br>I sat up, and my hand flew to my head. I had the worst headache imaginable.  
>"What-" I started.<br>"Time to catch up later, we've got to go now," the Doctor said. "Come on! The Globe!" he yelled, running out the door. Martha followed him and I stood, running after them.  
>We ran madly through the streets.<br>"We're going the wrong way!" Martha yelled.  
>"No, we're not!" the Doctor said. We turned a corner, and he stopped.<br>"We're going the wrong way!" he said. We ran back the way we came.  
>We ran, turning another corner to see the Globe Theater, glowing red with the energy. The preacher from when we first arrived was there.<br>"I told thee so! I told thee!" he was saying.  
>"Stage door!" the Doctor said.<br>The Doctor rushed off. Martha followed immediately, and I collapsed, falling against the wall of a building. My head hit the wall, and I saw black.

I woke up on th same cot as I had before, in our room at the inn. I sat up, looking around in alarm. I didn't see Martha, or the Doctor.  
>{Doctor?} I sent.<br>{Oh, you're up,} he said. {I'm at the Globe, why don't you come on over? We're going to leave in a few so-}  
>{I'm coming,} I sent, jumping up off the cot and running out the door.<br>I ran out the door, and down the streets, to the Globe. I burst in, to see Martha and Shakespeare on the stage, his arm around her waist.  
>"I've only just met you," Martha said. I discreetly scooted myself to the side.<br>"The Doctor might never kiss you. Why not entertain a man who will?" Shakespeare asked.  
>"I don't know how to tell you this, oh great genius, but your breath doesn't half stink," Martha said.<br>The Doctor emerged from backstage wearing a ruff collar and carrying an animal skull. I walked up to stand behind him.  
>"Good props store back there! I'm not sure about this though, reminds me of a Sycorax," he said, referring to the animal skull.<br>"Sycorax. Nice word. I'll have that off you as well," Shakespeare said.  
>"I should be on 10%. How's your head?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Still aching," Shakespeare replied.  
>Here, I got you this," he said. He removed the collar and put it on Shakespeare's neck. "Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might wanna keep it. It suits you," he said.<br>"What about the play?" Martha asked.  
>{Yes, what did happen?} I asked.<br>{Tell you later,} he sent.  
>"Gone. I looked all over — every single copy of 'Love's Labours' Won went up in the sky," the Doctor said.<br>"My lost masterpiece," Shakespeare said.  
>"You could write it up again," Martha said.<br>"Yeah, better not, Will. There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten," the Doctor said.  
>"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons. In memory of my boy — my precious Hamnet," Shakespeare said.<br>"Hamnet?" Martha asked.  
>"That's him," Shakespeare said.<br>"Ham-NET?" Martha asked again.  
>"What's wrong with that?" Shakespeare asked.<br>"Anyway, time we were off. I've got a nice attic in the TARDIS where this lot," he handed me a crystal ball. "can scream for all eternity and I've gotta take Martha back to Freedonia," the Doctor said.  
>{Doctor, who is that?} I asked, pointing to a woman in the crystal.<br>{I'll tell you later,} he sent.  
>"You mean travel on through time and space," Shakespeare said. "You what?" the Doctor asked.<br>"You're from another world like the Carrionites and Martha is from the future. It's not hard to work out," Shakespeare said.  
>"That's... incredible. You are incredible," the Doctor said.<br>"We're alike in many ways, Doctor," Shakespeare said. He turned to Martha. "Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate—-"  
>"Will! Will! You'll never believe it! She's here! She's turned up!" a man yelled as he burst into the theater.<br>"We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night! She wants us to perform it again," another man said, arriving a second later.  
>"Who?" Martha asked.<br>"Her Majesty! She's here!" the second man said.  
>There was fanfare as a woman in a truly spectacular gown entered.<br>"Queen Elizabeth I!" the Doctor said excitedly.  
>"Doctor!" Queen Elizabeth said, her eyes widening.<br>"What?" the Doctor asked, confused.  
>"My sworn enemy!" the Queen said.<br>"What?" the Doctor asked, shocked now.  
>"Off with his head!" the Queen said.<br>"What?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Never mind "what", just run! See you, Will! And thanks!" Martha yelled as she ran. The Doctor and I followed.<br>"Stop that pernicious Doctor!" the Queen yelled after us as Shakespeare laughed.  
>We ran through the streets, headign to the Tardis.<br>"Stop in the name of the Queen!" a man yelled after us.  
>"What have you done to upset her?" Martha asked.<br>"How should I know? Haven't even met her yet. That's time travel for you! Still, can't wait to find out," he said, unlocing th edoor to the Tardis. Martha and I ran in.  
>"That's something to look forward to. Oh!" He ducked inside and closed the door as there were thudding sounds on the out side of the Tardis. He ran over to the console, and punched a few buttons. He turned to me, pointing at the crystal I was sstill holding. "Put that in storage number 42," he said. I nodded, and walked off to do it, wondering what I'd missed. I remembered dying. But I couldn't quite out my finger on how. It is a very frustrating thing to be able to remember half of the things you do, and forget the rest. And why had I forgotten in the first place? I shook my head, deciding to ask the Doctor later.<p>

Martha walked over to the console. "So, you said you'd explain. About Shadow," she said.  
>The Doctor turned. "Right, yeah. Erm, Shadow's a bit complicated," he said.<br>"Why did you keep calling her Tei?" Martha asked.  
>"Because that's her name," the Doctor said.<br>"If her name's Tei, why do you call her Shadow?" Martha asked.  
>He rubbed the back of his neck. "She doesn't remember that her name is Tei," he said.<br>"Well why not?" Martha asked.  
>"It's quite a long story," he said.<br>"I'm listening," Martha said.  
>"Shadow is a Galva Neertan Government Issued Protection Unit, or GIPU," the Doctor said. "Most Units are manufactured, force grown. But Shadow was part of an experiment. Her and five others were selected for the experiment. They were just kids. Under the age of ten. They were taken from their families, and stuck in tanks. In one year, their aging was accelerated. She went from five years old to twenty in one year. They implanted a chip in her head, that inhibits emotion. Her teleport, and the Perception Filter." He paused. "The chip also keeps her from remembering those first five years of her life. If she remembers, the chip induces a medical hybernation mode, and wipes her memory. She wakes up, and goes about her job, just like a good little robot," he said.<br>"So, what is her job?" Martha asked.  
>He turned back to the console, pulling a lever. "Protecting me," he said. "I saved the Galva Neertan's planet from an alian threat, and in return, I got her." he turned back to Martha. "All she can ever do is follow behind me. That chip keeps her from ever having any other ideas," he said.<br>"Can't you remove the chip?" Martha asked. He shook his head.  
>"No, that would kill her," he said.<br>"So what happened when that carrionite got her?" Martha asked. "I checked her, she had no pulse. She was dead. How'd she come back?"  
>"She's a class 6 telepath. We have a physchic link. I pulled her back through that," he said.<br>"You pulled her back from the dead?" Martha asked.  
>He nodded.<br>Shadow walked back in out of the hall. The Doctor turned back to the console. He cleared his throat, addressing Martha.  
>"So, I said one trip, but I suppose we could stretch that a bit, one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How'd you fancy that?" he asked.<br>Martha grinned. "No complaints from me," she said.


	18. Gridlock

"How about a different planet?" the Doctor asked Martha.  
>"Can we go to yours?" Martha asked.<br>"Ah, there's plenty of other places," the Doctor said.  
>"Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?" Martha asked.<br>{Doctor, what are you doing?} I sent.  
>{I'm not sure,} he sent back.<br>"Well, it's beautiful, yeah," the Doctor said aloud.  
>"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" Martha asked.<br>"I suppose it is," he said.  
>{Oh,} I sent, picking up on his feelings. I leaned against the rail.<br>"Great big temples and cathedrals!" Marth went on.  
>"Yeah," the Doctor said.<br>"Lots of planets in the sky?" Martha asked.  
>"The sky's a burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow," the Doctor said, the landscape running through his mind as he spoke. "Can we go there?" Martha asked.<br>He reconcentrated on the present. "Nah. Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead, this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built," he said.  
>He walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out into the rain. I smiled, and turned my face up, enjoying beautiful weather.<br>"Oh, that's nice. Time Lord version of dazzling," Martha said.  
>"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Take Shadow's lead," he said, gesturing to me. "Come on, let's get under cover!" he said.<br>We ran into an area that was sheltered from the rain.  
>"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon," Martha said.<br>"Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look," the Doctor said.  
>He used his sonic screwdriver to get a monitor mounted on the alley wall working.<br>A woman appeared on the screen. "And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway," she said.  
>The screen showed a picture of a high-tec Manhattan and flying cars.<br>"Oh, that's more like it. That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city," the Doctor said.  
>"You've brought me to the slums?" Martha asked.<br>"Much more interesting. It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city," the Doctor said enthusiastically.  
>"You'd enjoy anything," Martha said.<br>"That's me. Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better," the Doctor said. I sniffed the air curiously.  
>"Doctor, do you smell that?" I said, taking in a big whiff. Wow.<br>"When you say last time, was that you and Rose?" Martha asked.  
>"Er, yeah. Yeah, it was, yeah," the Doctor said. The smell got stronger an I looked around. It smelled really good.<br>"You're taking me to the same planets that you took her?" Martha asked.  
>"What's wrong with that?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Nothing. Just ever heard the word rebound?" the Doctor said.  
>A window opened,and the smell got a lot stroner abruptly. I swayed, the smell making me a bit giddy.<br>"Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy. You want Happy," a man said, poking his head out a window.  
>"Doctor, I..." I drifted off, the rest of my sentence lost as I passed out.<p>

"Customers. Customers! We've got customers!" a man yelled, opening another window. The Doctor looked around, not noticing that Shadow was slumped against the wall, unconcious.  
>"We're in business. Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read," another woman said from a different stall.<br>"Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!" the first man said.  
>"Anger. Buy some Anger!" the second man said.<br>"Get some Mellow. Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long," the woman said.  
>"Don't go to them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?" the first man asked.<br>"No, thanks," the Doctor said.  
>"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked.<br>"I think they're selling moods," he said.  
>"Same thing, isn't it?" Martha asked.<br>More people started to enter the area, listless and dressed in rags.  
>"Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!" the woman said to a girl.<br>"oi! Oi you, come over here," the first man yelled to a man.  
>"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?" the woman said to the girl who had gone over to her stall.<br>"I want to buy Forget," the girl said.  
>"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?" the woman running the stall asked.<br>"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway," the girl said.  
>"Oh, that's a swine. Try this. Forget Forty three. That's two credits," the woman running the stall said.<br>"Sorry, but hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?" the Doctor asked her.  
>"They drove off," the girl said.<br>"Yeah, but they might drive back," the Doctor said.  
>"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them," the girl said.<br>"But they can't have gone far. You could find them. No. No, no, don't," the Doctor said.  
>He was too late. The girl stuck the Forget 43 tab to her neck.<br>"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.  
>"Your parents. Your mother and father. They're on the motorway," the Doctor said.<br>"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you," the girl said.  
>She turned and walked away.<br>"So that's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals," Martha said.  
>A man grabbed Martha from behind, and a woman pointed a gun at the Doctor. The stalls all closed their hatches.<br>"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all," the man said.  
>"No, let her go! I'm warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. Both of us, we can help. But first you've got to let her go," the Doctor said.<br>"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Sorry," the man said.  
>The man dragged Martha through a green door, and the woamn locked it behind them. The Doctor struggled with the door, and then pulled out his sonic screwdriver. The door opened, and he ran through it, down a passageway, and out into open air, just as a car pulled up into the sky.<br>"Martha!" he yelled.  
>He turned. {Shadow, can you teleport-} he stopped, looking around. {Shadow?} he poked their link and swayed as he got a feeling of immense pleaseure from the other end. He almost passed out himself, before withdrawing quickly. He shook his head to clear it, and ran back to the alley with the vendors.<p>

I was floating. I was so happy. What I was feeling was an indescribable wave of pure bliss. I giggled, a wave of red floating in front of my eyes. I reached out to touch it, and my fingers went straight through. I giggle more and looked up, seeing more of them, in all different colors, ribbons in the sky. I kicked my legs, and floated towards them, laughing as they brushed against the skin of my neck. They tickled.

The Doctor felt Shadow's neck for a pulse, and found that there was one. He sighed in relief as Shadow giggled in her sleep.  
>"There must be Alsetachloraphine in some of those tabs," he said to himself. He stood, walking over to one of the hatches. He banged on the closed hatch.<br>"Thought you'd come back. Do you want some happy Happy?" the first man asked.  
>"Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They've taken her to the motorway," the first man said.  
>"Looked like carjackers to me," the woman said.<br>"I'd give up now, darling. You won't see her again," the second man said.  
>"Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end," the first man said.<br>"He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?" the Doctor asked.  
>"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults," the woman said.<br>"This motorway. How do I get there?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You canna miss it," the woman said.<br>The Doctor nodded, and pointed at Shadow, who was still giggling ligthly every now and then. "Watch over her, when she wakes up- Oh never mind, I'll tell her myself through the link. Just watch over her till she wakes up, alright?" he said. The woman nodded. "Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love," the woman said.  
>"Word of advice, all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags," the Doctor said.<br>"Why's that, then?" the woman asked.  
>"Because as soon as I've found her, alive and well. And I will find her alive and well. Then I'm coming back, and this street is closing tonight!" the Doctor said.<p>

I was no longer happy. Something was not right. I struggled trying to get away, but the ribbons that had looked so beautiful before now twined insidiously around me, threatening to strangle me. Someone was slapping me, and I screamed as I was plunged into a pool of water.

I sat up screaming.  
>"You're alright love, you can relax," a woman said. I looked around in alarm, and stood, shaking off the water that had been tossed on me to wake me up.<br>I reached out for the Doctor, and sat down heavily, head spinning.  
>"If that's a phsychic link you've got, you won't be able to get through to him dear. The motorway blocks links to prevent collaborative terrorism," the woman said.<br>I looked at her. "Is that where he is?" the motorway?" I asked.  
>She nodded. "I'm afraid dear. Would you like some happy?" she asked, pulling out a tab. I reeled, just barely holding onto conciousness. She saw my reaction and put it away quickly. "Sorry," she said.<br>"So where is this motorway then?" I asked, recovering. She pointed.  
>"Just down the alley, at the end. You can't miss it," she said.<br>I nodded, and ran off.

I coughed in the smoke of the platform, before I stopped breathing, turning on the oxygen filter.  
>I looked around, seeing nothing but cars for miles up and down the tunnel. I looked at a car, and gauged the thickness of the walls. I teleported.<br>There was a woman in the car. I started breathing again.  
>"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but have you seen a skinny man with brown hair and a suit? He calls himself the Doctor, and travels with a woman called Martha Jones, wears a red jacket?" I asked. She shook her head, looking like this was perfectly normal.<br>"Oh, well, thank you anyway," I said. I went to the window and looked out at the next car, gauging the distance. I was perfectly prepared to teleport from car to car until I found him. I doubted that he had stayed outside for long. There was too much exhaust. I teleported.

"Oh, there was a man with Brannigan and his family," the old woman said.  
>"Really? Which car is that?" I asked, going to the window. She pointed. "That one just there," she said.<br>I hugged her. "Thank you," I said.  
>"It's no problem sweetie," she said, eying my clothes which had a good layer of smoke on them from missing cars and landing elsewhere instead.<p>

I fell to the ground in the car the woman had pointed out.  
>I stood, brushing myself off as a cat-person and a human stared at me.<br>I smiled. "Hello, I'm looking for a man, with a coat, and a suit. He calls himself the Doctor, and travles with a woman called Martha Jones, she wears a red jacket. Have you seen them?" I asked.  
>The man pointed at a hatch in the floor. "We saw the Doctr, he left through that, just a half hour ago," the cat-man said. He reached over and held up the Doctor's coat. "He gave me this to hold onto," the man said.<br>"Thank you," I said.

"Another one?" an astonished man asked.  
>"You've seen another man come through here?" I asked.<br>He nodded. "Said he was a Motorway foot patrol, and that my comments have been noted," the man said.  
>"Thank you," I said.<p>

On Car Below And Three Cars Ahead...

"Yes, he was here," one of the asian women said.  
>"He took my scarf," the other said.<br>I nodded. "Thank you," I said, teleporting.

One Car Down...

"Did a man in a suit come through here?" I asked. I would have just left, but this nudist man may have seen the Doctor.  
>The naked man nodded. "Yes, but he left right away," the man said.<br>I nodded and teleported as quickly as I could.

One Car Down And Four Cars Ahead...

"Yes, it was very odd," the red man said.  
>I held a hand up. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm in a bit of hurry," I said, teleporting.<p>

I was exhausted. I sat down in the car, gasping.  
>"Say, are you alright?" a girl with black hair that was cut unevenly said, getting up and moving over to me.<br>I nodded. "Just...Tired," I said.  
>"You want some water?" she asked.<br>I nodded. "Thank you," I said, accepting the cup gratefully.  
>She sat down next to me. I choked, and she whacked me firmly on the back.<br>"Thanks," I said, trying to get up.  
>"Uh uh," she said, pulling me over to a chair. "You need to sit a minute," she said.<br>Despite my protests, my legs betrayed me,and I fell into the chair. She sat down at the wheel, across from me.  
>"So, let me guess, you teleported in?" she asked.<br>I nodded, mildly surprised.  
>"Internal teleport, because that thing on your wrist isn't a teleport, it's a Force Shield generator," she said.<br>I nodded. "You know a bit," I said.  
>She shrugged. "My mother taught me," she said.<br>She held her hand out. "What's your name?" she asked.  
>I shook her hand. I felt very comfortable with this person. Like I'd known her for a very long time.<br>"Shadow. You?" I asked.  
>"Helen Neferati," she said.<br>"That's a nice name," I said. "It sounds familiar though," I said, trying to remember where I'd heard it before.  
>"Yeah," she said. She looked at me oddly. "Say, you look very familiar, Shadow," she said. She looked at me some more. "You wouldn't be traveling with a Doctor, would you?" she asked.<br>"As a matter of fact I am," I said. "I've lost him, and I'm looking for him."  
>She gaped at me open-mouthed. "Unit 24AK2930?" she asked.<br>I started. "have we met before?" I asked.  
>She shook her head. "Umm, no I've umm... I've heard stories about you," she said.<br>She kept staring at me, and I was a bit uncomfortable.  
>"I should probably be going now," I said, standing.<br>She stood too. "Yeah, right. Yeah, of course. Just..." she looked at me. "I wonder if I'm the one who says," she said to herself.  
>"Say what?" I asked.<br>She looked hesitant at first, but then smiled. "Okay. Four times for Shadow, not him," she said.  
>"What does that mean?" I asked.<br>She shook her head. "That's all I know to say, I promise. Just remember, Four times for Shadow, not him. Now go, find your Doctor, and live a good life," she said, beaming.  
>I looked around one more time, and then teleported.<p>

Helen sat down in the driver's seat, wondering how many people got to meet their however many times great grandmothers?

Thirteen Cars Down And Forty-Three Ahead Later...

I teleported into the car, and immediately heard the best sound in the world.  
>"There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, maybe I could trip the system, give us a bit of a breeze," the Doctor said.<br>He was kneeling on the floor, blue headscarf around his neck, next to a man in a pinstripe suit and a bowler hat.  
>"Doctor," I said.<br>He turned, grinning when he saw me. "You're awake!" he said.  
>"What are you doing?" I asked, joining him a the hole in the floor.<br>"There's something down there," he said, fiddling with the sonic.  
>"Where's Martha?" I asked, looking around.<br>He gestured. "Down there," he said.

Brannigan And Valerie's Car...

Someone was cutting through the roof hatch.  
>"More People! Pirates this time," he said.<br>"I'm calling the police!" Valerie said.  
>A cat-woman hung upside down from the hatch.<br>"The Doctor. Where is he?" she demanded.

The Doctor was reconnecting wires.  
>"That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look," the Doctor said as all three of us peered down the hole.<br>"What are those shapes?" the man said.  
>"They're alive," the Doctor said.<br>Giant claws snapedp up at us.  
>"What the hell are they?" the man asked.<br>"Macra," I said. I looked at the Doctor. "Doctor, Macra are number 48 on the list," I said.  
>"What list?" the man asked.<br>"The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food," the Doctor began speaking aloud to himself.  
>"They don't exactly look like empire builders to me," the man said.<br>"Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my friend's down there," the Doctor said.  
>"I'm not letting you go down there," I said, glaring at him.<br>There was a clang on the roof.  
>"Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!" the man said.<br>A cat I recognized dropped in.  
>"I've invented a sport," the Doctor said.<br>"Doctor, I took the liberty of adding cat-nuns to my list the last time we met them," I said. "That makes for Macra, cat-nuns, and guns," I said, gesturing to the weapon in her hand.  
>"Doctor, you're a hard man to find," Hame said, ignoring me.<br>"No guns. I'm not having guns," the man said.  
>"I only brought this in case of pirates. Doctor, you've got to come with me," Hame said. I tensed.<br>"Do I know you?" the Doctor said.  
>"You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me," Hame said.<br>"Doctor, she was at the hospital," I said.  
>"Novice Hame! No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation," the Doctor said.<br>"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself," she said.  
>"He's not going anywhere," I hissed.<br>"Shadow's got it, I'm not going anywhere. You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And if my friend's still alive, she's stuck down there," the Doctor said.  
>"You're not going down there either," I said.<br>"You've got to come with me right now," Hame said.  
>"No, no, no, you're coming with me. We've got four passengers now, that's more than enough" the Doctor said.<br>"I'm sorry, Doctor. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine," Hame said. She grabbed the Doctor's wrist.  
>"Transport," she said.<br>I lunged forward, trying to get a grip on him, but I went through thin air.  
>I looked around frantically. "He's not leaving me again," I said.<br>"What, he left a pretty girl like you before?" the man asked. I glared at him.  
>"That is an unhelpful, facetious comment," I said, glaring. He put his hands up defensively, and sat down. I paced a bit, and then jumped.<br>"Oh yes!" I yelled. "What?" he asked as I scanned the air. It was!  
>"They used a Telveneranian teleport," I explained as I adjusted the settings on my teleport slightly.<br>"What does that mean?" the man asked.  
>I smiled at him. "It means they've left a particle trail behind, which I can follow to get to them, I said, teleporting.<p>

I was in a large room. Hame and the Doctor were there, and he seemed to be alright, so I relaxed, walking over to stand behind him.  
>"They died, Doctor. The city died," Hame said.<br>"How long's it been like this?" the Doctor asked. I heard something crunch under my foot, and saw a bone. I picked it up, scanning.  
>{Doctor, this is a human bone,} I sent.<br>{I know Shadow,} he sent back.  
>"Twenty four years," Hame told him.<br>"All of them? Everyone? What happened?" the Doctor asked. I sneezed.  
>"A new chemical," Hame explained. "A new mood. They called it Bliss. Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished. Even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."<br>"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic," the Doctor said.  
>"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking," Hame said.<br>"Who's we? How did you survive?" I cut in.  
>"He protected me. And he has waited for you, these long years," she said to the Doctor.<br>{Doctor,} came a voice from behind. I turned, and saw a Face of Boe.  
>{The Face of Boe,} I gaped, mouth open. There were more myths about the Face of Boe on Galva Neerta than there were about the Doctor.<br>"The Face of Boe!" the Doctor said.  
>{I knew you would come,} Boe sent, his voice open to all.<br>"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse as penance for my sin," Hame said.  
>"Old friend, what happened to you?" the Doctor said, kneeling by his tank.<br>{Failing,} Boe sent. I wondered how powerful a telepath he had to be to be able to broadcast like that.  
>"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea," Hame said.<br>"So he saved them," the Doctor said, as I inspected some wires behind Boe's tank.  
>"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running," Hame said.<br>"But there are planets out there. You could have called for help," the Doctor said.  
>"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years," Hame said.<br>"So the two of you stayed here, on your own for all these years," the Doctor said.  
>"We had no choice," Hame said.<br>"Yes, you did," the Doctor said.  
>{Save them, Doctor. Save them,} Boe said.<br>The Doctor nodded, and looked around. I could hear him thinking, and it was giving me a headache.  
>He rushed over to a monitor.<br>"Car four six five diamond six. It still registers! That's Martha. I knew she was good. Novice Hame, hold that in place. Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity grid," he said.  
>"There isn't enough power," Hame said.<br>"Oh, you've got power," the Doctor said. "You've got me. I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum. I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."  
>"So what are you going to do?" Hame asked.<br>"This!" he yelled. He threw a big switch and the lights went out. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he said, scrabbling at the montor controls.  
>"The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through," the Doctor said.<br>{Doctor,} Boe said.  
>"Yeah, hold on, not now," the Doctor said.<br>{I give you my last breath,} Boe said.  
>The power came back to the computer.<br>"Hame, look after him. Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!" the Doctor yelled. He turned to the monitor, and pushed a button.  
>"Sorry, no Sally Calypso. She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor," he said to the screen. "And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you. The whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way," he said. I looked out the window to see cars coming up a few miles away.<br>The Doctor pushed a few more keys.  
>"Oi! Car four six five diamond six. Martha! Drive up!" he said to the screen. "You've got access above. Now go!".<br>"You keep driving, Brannigan," he said, switching to a private connection. "All the way up. Because it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget I want that coat back," the Doctor said to the screen. I walked over and waved to the cat-man and his wife.  
>"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir," he said to the Doctor. He noticed me. "Oh, you found him," he said.<br>I smiled. "Yeah I did," I said.  
>"I never did get your name. Out of curiousity, what is it?" he asked.<br>"Tei Neferati," I said automatically. The Doctor looked at me, and I looked back at him. "Why did I say that?" I asked confusedly.  
>The Doctor looked a bit sheepish. "You've remembered again," he said.<br>"That- that woman-her name was-" I blinked. "Her name was-" I looked at him, mouth open. "Her name was Helen Neferati," I said. "She said-she-" I was very tired.  
>The Doctor shook me. "What did she say Tei?" he asked.<br>"She said- She said four for Shadow, not him," I said. "What does it mean?" I asked. He shook his head in bewilderment.  
>"I haven't the foggiest," he said. My knees wobbled, and I fell over. He knelt down beside me.<br>"Don't fight it Tei," he said. "I promised I'd help you, and I will. But I don't know what to do for you now," he said.  
>"Why- why..." I trailed off as I went out.<p>

The Doctor stood, and pushed a few keys on the comsole.  
>"Car four six five diamond six, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate," he said.<br>"On my way," Martha said.  
>"It's been quite a while since I saw you, Martha Jones," the Doctor said.<br>"Where's Shadow?" Martha asked.  
>He looked down to where she was lying. "She's taking a nap," he said.<br>Martha frowned. "Some time for a nap," she said.  
>"Yeah, it's a bit complicated. I'll explain later," he said.<br>"Doctor!" Hame yelled.  
>He turned to see a big crack spreading across Boe's tank.<p>

Martha ran into the senate building.  
>"Doctor?" Martha asked.<br>"Over here," the Doctor said.  
>"Doctor! What happened out there?" Martha asked. She saw the Face of Boe, who was out of his tank.<br>"What's that?" she asked.  
>"It's the Face of Boe. It's all right. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me," the Doctor said.<br>"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying," Hame said.  
>"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left," the Doctor said.<br>{It's good to breathe the air once more,} Boe sent openly.  
>"Who is he?" Martha asked, walking over to kneel next to Boe.<br>"I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now," the Doctor said.  
>{Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most,} Boe sent.<br>"The legend says more," Hame said.  
>"Don't. There's no need for that," the Doctor said. "It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller," Hame said.<br>"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" the Doctor asked.  
>{I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor,} Boe said.<br>"That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go," the Doctor said.  
>{I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone,} Boe said.<br>The Face of Boe breathed out for one last time, and closed his eyes, looking at peace. Hame put her face in her paws and wept, as the Doctor stared at Boe, stunned.

"All closed down," the Doctor said, grunting a bit under Tei's weight.  
>"Happy?" Martha asked.<br>"Happy happy. New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs. Cats in charge. Come on, time we were off," he said, opening the door to the Tardis and going inside.  
>"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You're not alone," Martha yelled after him.<br>"I don't know," the Doctor said, putting Tei down.  
>"You've got me. Is that what he meant?" Martha said.<br>"I don't think so. Sorry," the Doctor said.  
>"Then what?" Martha asked.<br>"Doesn't matter. Back in the Tardis, off we go," he said.  
>Martha straightened up a chair and sat down, arms and legs crossed.<br>"All right, are you staying?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean?" Martha asked.<br>"It really doesn't matter," the Doctor said.  
>"You don't talk. You never say. Why not?" Martha asked. The sound of singing drifted to their ears.<br>Martha looked up. "It's the city," she said. "They're singing."  
>The Doctor sat down in a chair across from her. "I lied to you, because I liked it. I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else," the Doctor said.<br>"What happened?" Martha asked.  
>"There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song," he said, hundreds of years away. He continued, telling her everything about his home world. The Time Lords. The Citadel, and the Academy. And she listened. She sat, and listened until he fell silent, staring off into empty space as the song ended, and there was slience.<br>Martha stood, and took his hand. "Come on," she said. He looked up at her, and she smiled at him. "Let's go back home," she said, leading him to the Tardis.


	19. Daleks In Manhattan

"... and Z says zzz," I finished.  
>Martha clapped. "Great, you got it," she said. "You can start trying to read stuff now."<br>We were the room that Martha was staying in in the Tardis, and I now knew all lmy letters, and the sounds they made.  
>"I have one question Martha," I asked.<br>"What is it?" she asked.  
>"Is the Alphabet Song sung in that order for any reason, or is it random?" I asked.<br>"Oh gee, I don't know," Martha said. "I guess I never really thought about it."  
>The Doctor knocked on the door frame. "Making friends?" he asked me, sounding hopeful.<br>I thought about it. "I am not sure. Martha is not listed as an enemy, so she could be categorized as an ally, or friend," I said. Martha looked at the Doctor oddly, and he scratched the tip of his nose. "Anyway, I took the liberty of choosing our next destination. I was wondering if Miss Martha," he made a little bow in her direction causing her to giggle. "and our lovely Shadow," he bowed at me. "would accompany me out?" he asked. Martha stood, and walked out the door giggling as he made a ladies first gesture. He continued after she was gone, and I realized he meant me. I ticked on my fongers. "Ladies, children, men, Shadow," I said.  
>He chuckled, and went out, me following.<br>"Where are we?" Martha asked as she stepped out of the Tardis.  
>"Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze. Nice and cold. Lovely. Martha, have you met my friend?" he asked. I looked around in confusion.<br>Martha turned around and looked up. I followed her gaze to see an enormous statue.  
>"Is that? Oh, my God. That's the Statue of Liberty," Martha said.<br>{Oh, we are in the Earth city of New York,} I sent.  
>{Yep,} the Doctor sent back.<br>"Gateway to the New World. Give me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free," the Doctor said aloud. {I do not understand,} I sent.  
>"That's so brilliant. I've always wanted to go to New York. I mean the real New York, not the new, new, new, new, new one," Martha said.<br>"Well, there's the genuine article. So good, they named it twice. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally. Harder to say twice. Now wonder it didn't catch on. New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam," the Doctor said.  
>"New Amsterdam," I said experimentally. I looked at the Doctor. "I like it," I said.<br>"Well, at least she voices an opinion now," Martha said, looking at the Doctor triumphantly.  
>He shrugged. "That is good," he said.<br>"Are you talking about me?" I asked, perplexed.  
>They looked at me a bit guiltily.<br>"I wonder what year it is, because look, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet," Martha said after a short silence. She was pointing at a half finished building.  
>"Work in progress," the Doctor said. "Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around..."<br>Martha picked up a copy of the New York Record which was lying on a bench.  
>"November first 1930," she said. I peeked over her shoulder at the newspaper.<br>"You're getting good at this," the Doctor said.  
>"H...o... Martha, there are two O's there," I said, pointing.<br>"When there are to O's in a row like that, it makes and Oo sound," Martha explained.  
>"Oh," I said. "H...oo...v...e...r- Hoover vile-"<br>"Almost, that's ville, it's different because it's got two L's," Martha explained for me. "Hooverville Mystery Deepens. What's Hooverville?" Martha asked the Doctor.  
>"Herbert Hoover, thirty first President of the USA, came to power a year ago," the Doctor explained. "Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then-"<br>"The Wall Street Crash, yeah? When was that, 1929?" Martha asked.  
>"Yeah. Whole economy wiped out overnight. Thousands of people unemployed. All of a sudden, the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go. So, they ended up in Central Park," he said, pointing.<br>"What, they actually live in the park? In the middle of the city?" Martha asked.  
>The Doctor nodded, and started walking off towards the park. I followed him, and so did Martha.<p>We were in a shanty town, the 'houses' little mnore than tents put up with sticks and blankets.<br>"Ordinary people lost their jobs. Couldn't pay the rent and they lost everything. There are places like this all over America. No one's helping them. You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere else to go," the Doctor was telling Martha. I stopped at a sign.  
>"S...h.. that's one sound, Sh, right?" I asked. Martha was watching something else though.<br>"You thieving lowlife!" a black man was yelling.  
>"I didn't touch it!" a white man protested.<br>"Somebody stole it!" the black man yelled.  
>A black man came out of a tent.<br>"Cut that out! Cut that out right now!" he yelled over the ruckus, breaking the fight up.  
>"He stole my bread!" the first black man said.<br>"That's enough! Did you take it?" the second asked the white man.  
>"I don't know what happened. He just went crazy," the man said.<br>"That's enough! Now, think real careful before you lie to me," the second black man said.  
>"I'm starving, Solomon," the white man said.<br>Soloman held out his hand, and the white man took a loaf of bread out from inside his coat.  
>"We all starving. We all got families somewhere," Soloman said.<br>He broke the loaf in half and gave half to each man.  
>"No stealing and no fighting. You know the rules. Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together. No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It's all we got," Soloman said.<br>The two fighters walked away.  
>"Come on," the Doctor said to Martha and I. "I suppose that makes you the boss around here," the Doctor said to Soloman.<br>"And, er, who might you be?" Soloman said. "He's the Doctor. I'm Martha. That's Shadow," she said, gesturing to us in turn.  
>"A doctor. Huh. Well, we got stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you're the first doctor. Neighbourhood gets classier by the day," Soloman said.<br>"How many people live here?" Martha asked.  
>"At any one time, hundreds," Soloman said. "No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society. Black, white, all the same. All starving. So you're welcome, both of you. But tell me. Doctor, you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me. That there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that, when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?" Soloman asked, pointing to the Enpire State building.<br>"Stoned if I know," Martha said.  
>"I do not understand," I murmured to her under my breath.<br>"So, men are going missing. Is this true?" the Doctor asked.  
>"It's true all right," Soloman said, walking to his tent.<br>"But what does missing mean? Men must come and go here all the time. It's not like anyone's keeping a register," the Doctor said.  
>"Come on in. This is different," Soloman said as he ducked into his tent.<br>"In what way?" Martha asked.  
>"Someone takes them, at night. We hear something, someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone like they vanished into thin air," Soloman said.<br>"And you're sure someone's taking them?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Doctor, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got. Your knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, fire still burning," Soloman said. "Have you been to the police?" Martha asked.<br>"Yeah, we tried that. Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal," Soloman said.  
>"So the question is, who's taking them and what for?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Solomon!" a man yelled from outside. He poked his head into the tent. "Solomon, Mister Diagoras is here," he said.  
>We exited the tent and stoo, walking over to where a man, I assumed it was mister Diagoras, was addressing all present.<br>"I need men. Volunteers. I've got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money," he said.  
>"Yeah. What is the money?" the boy said.<br>"A dollar a day," Diagoras said.  
>"What's the work?" Soloman asked.<br>"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?" Diagoras asked.  
>"A dollar a day? That's slave wage. And men don't always come back up, do they," Soloman said.<br>"Accidents happen," Diagoras said.  
>"What do you mean? What sort of accidents?" the Doctor asked.<br>"You don't need the work? That's fine. Anybody else?" Diagoras asked.  
>The Doctor raises his hand. I looked up, and tried to snatch it down. He kept it up out of my reach.<br>"Enough with the questions," Diagoras said.  
>"Oh, no, no, no. I'm volunteering. I'll go," the Doctor said.<br>"No he won't," I piped up, jumping to try and get his hand out of the air.  
>Martha raised her hand.<br>"I'll kill you for this," she said to the Doctor.  
>"Don't kill him, just help me with his hand," I said. She looked at me oddly.<br>"Anybody else?" Diagoras asked.  
>Frank and Solomon raised their hands. I gave up and glared at the Doctor.<p>

I was bent over a plaque. "In...M...e...m- Memo?" I asked Martha confusedly.  
>"Memory," she said. I nodded.<br>"Turn left. Go about a half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall's right ahead of you, you can't miss it," Diagoras said. I hurried over to the Doctor.  
>"And when do we get our dollar?" Soloman asked.<br>"When you come back up," Diagoras said.  
>"And if we don't come back up?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Then I got no one to pay," Diagoras said.  
>"Don't worry, we'll be back," Soloman said.<br>"Let's hope so," Martha said, following the others into the tunnel.  
>The Doctor stared into Diagoras' eyes for a few moments, then followed the others.<br>"We just got to stick together. It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here. "So what about you, Frank? You're not from around these parts, are you?" Martha said.  
>"Oh, you could talk. No, I'm Tennessee born and bred," Frank said.<br>"So how come you're here?" Martha asked.  
>"Oh, my daddy died. Mama couldn't afford to feed us all. So, I'm the oldest, up to me to feed myself. So I put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in the camp, younger than me, from all over. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas. Solomon keeps a lookout for us. So, what about you? You're a long way from home," Frank said.<br>"Yeah, I'm just a hitcher too," Martha said.  
>"You stick with me, you'll be all right," Frank said.<br>"So this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?" the Doctor asked.  
>"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now, it seems like he's running most of Manhattan," Soloman said. I didn't like the tunnels. I considered turning on my Shadow Device, but the others already knew I was here, so it would seem odd if I just disapeared.<br>"How'd he manage that then?" the Doctor asked.  
>"These are strange times. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way round," Soloman said.<br>"Whoa!" the Doctor said.  
>He knelt down next to a luminous green jellyfish. "Is it radioactive or something? It's gone off, whatever it is," Martha said. The Doctor picked it up. "And you've got to pick it up," she said.<br>{Shadow, can you run a scan on it?} the Doctor sent.  
>{Yes,} I said. {It's composite organic matter. I haven't seen anything like it before, and there is no mention of it in the Unit EAD,} I sent.<br>"Shine your torch through it. Composite organic matter. Martha? Medical opinion?" the Doctor asked aloud.  
>"It's not human. I know that," Martha said.<br>"No, it's not. And I'll tell you something else. We must be at least half a mile in. I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Mister Diagoras send up down here?" the Doctor asked Martha.  
>"Where are we now? What's above us? "Well, we're right underneath Manhattan," the Doctor said.<p>

We had stopped under a manhole that was shedding some light on our suroundings. "We're way beyond half a mile. There's no collapse, nothing," the Doctor said.  
>"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?" Martha asked.<br>"Looks like it," the Doctor said.  
>"So why'd he want people to come down here?" Frank asked.<br>"Solomon, I think it's time you took these two back. I'll be much quicker on my own," the Doctor said.  
>Squeals echoed in the tunnel around us.<br>"What the hell was that?" Soloman asked.  
>"Hello?" Frank asked the darkness.<br>"Shush," Martha said.  
>"Quiet," I said.<br>"Frank," Solomon said.  
>"What if it's one of the folk gone missing? You'd be scared and half mad down here on your own," Frank said.<br>"Do you think they're still alive?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost," Franks said.<br>There were more squeals.  
>"I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that," Solomon said.<br>"Where's it coming from? Sounds like there's more than one of them," Frank said.  
>"This way," the Doctor said, pointing.<br>"No, that way," Solomon said. His torch lit up a figure crouched in a corner.  
>"Doctor?" Martha asked.<br>"Who are you?" Solomon asked.  
>"Are you lost? Can you understand me? I've been thinking about folk lost down-"<br>"It's all right, Frank," the Doctor said. "Just stay back. Let me have a look. He's got a point, though, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us-" he stopped, and I walked up behind him, and peeked over his shoulder. The man had a face like an Earth animal called a pig. "Oh, but what are you?" The Doctor asked.  
>"Is that, er, some kind of carnival mask?" Solomon asked.<br>"No, it's real. I'm sorry. Now listen to me. I promise I can help. Who did this to you?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Doctor? I think you'd better get back here," Martha said.<br>More pigmen entered the tunnel.  
>"Doctor," I said in warning.<br>"Actually, good point," he said. He ran back to the group.  
>"They're following you," Martha said.<br>"Yeah, I noticed that, thanks. Well then, Martha, Frank, Solomon," he said.  
>"What?" Martha asked.<br>"Eh? Er, basically, run!" he said. We ran, and the pigmen chased us.  
>{Do you think they're carnivorous?} I sent. {I wonder how to spell 'carnivorous',} I sent as an after thought.<br>"C-A-R-N-I-V-O-R-O-U-S," the Doctor said aloud as he ran. "And I don't know if they are or not."  
>Solomon shot him a look, but kept running.<br>The pigmen chased us back to a junction.  
>"Where are we going?" Martha asked breathlessly.<br>"This way!" the Doctor said, dashing down a side passage. There was a ladder there.  
>"It's a ladder! Come on!" he said, going up. He used his sonic screwdriver to open the cover at the top. Frank grabbed an iron T bar to ward off the pigmen as Martha climbs up. Solomon went next, and I climbed up after him.<br>"Frank! Frank!" Solomon yelled.  
>Frank ran to the ladder. I was only halfway up, and climbing. I stopped though. He wasn't going to make it.<br>"C'mon, Frank! C'mon!" Solomon yelled.  
>"Shadow, hurry up," Martha urged. The Doctor screamed at me through our link.<br>The pigmen grabbed Frank's legs. Solomon and the Doctor tried to grab my hand, but Frank was pulled off the ladder, and I made a split second decision. I jumped off the ladder, into the midst of the pigmen.  
>{Close the hatch Doctor,} I sent.<br>{What are you doing?} he sent back.  
>{I have no idea,} I sent, sending along the feeling I got when I thought of leaving someone alone in the dark with the pigmen.<br>Above, I heard the hatch close, and I stood, turning the Shadow Device on. The pigmen did not seem to be trying to eat Frank.  
>{Doctor, the pigmen are not trying to eat Frank,} I sent.<br>There was no reply. I tapped the link. {Doctor?} I sent. I did a quick scan, this time scanning for everything, instead of just organic compounds. There was a field of negatively charged Rethim energy, it looked like it blanketed the entire sewer system. There was no one on Earth at this point in it's history(Except the Russians) with the capility to blanket such a wide area with a field of energy like that. The pigmen were moving, hauling Frank away, and I followed, unnoticed.  
>The pigmen made their way through the tunnels, and Frank kept fighting. I wished I could tell him to stop, because he was going to get himself hurt, but he wouldn't have noticed me due to the Shadow Device, and if I turned it off, I wouldn't be able to help him very well. So I just followed them.<p>

While Shadow was following Frank and the pigmen, her Doctor was staring down the barrel of a gun being pointed at him by a woman in a dressing room.  
>"Laszlo's my boyfriend," she was saying. They'd gotten taken up by her immediately after they'd closed the hatch. Martha and Solomon were there as well. "Or was my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs but not my Laszlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?" the woman finished.<br>"Yeah. It might, might just help if you put that down," the Doctor said, indicating the gun.  
>The woman looked at the gun. "Huh? Oh, sure. Oh, come on. It's not real. It's just a prop. It was either that or a spear," she said, putting the gun down on the dressing table.<br>"What do you think happened to Lazlo?" Martha asked.  
>"I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip. Vanished," the woman said.<br>"Listen, ah—what's your name?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Tallulah," she said.<br>"Tallulah," the Doctor said.  
>"Three Ls and an H," Tallulah said.<br>"Right. We can try to find Laszlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night," the Doctor said.  
>"And there are creatures. Such creatures," Solomon said.<br>"What do you mean, creatures?" Tallulah said.  
>"Look, listen, just trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is," the Doctor siad, holding up the jellyfish thing.<br>"Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting," the Doctor said.  
>"Yuck," Tallulah said, wrinkling her nose.<p>

Meanwhile, In The Sewers...

Frank was taken to a room, full of other people. There were bars on the door. He was shoved inside, and then the door was barred. I teleported in, and turned off my Shadow Device.  
>"Frank," I whispered. He looked up.<br>"Shadow? How'd you get here? You were with the others, I saw you," he said.  
>I sat down next to him. "I followed you," I said.<br>"And they caught you?" he asked, sitting back.  
>I shook my head. "No, I snuck in here," I said.<br>He looked at me. "Why would you do that? Why not go and get help?" he asked.  
>I leaned in closer. "Because there is something very wrong here Frank. That jallyfish in the tunnel was an unregistered life form, and that's bad news. Also, there is a field of negatively charged Rethim energy over the entire sewers, blocking phsychic communications. Humans don't have that kind of technologly right now." I paused. "Except the Russians, they're a little bit ahead," I added as an after thought.<br>Frank stared at me. "You think it's Russians that got us?" he asked. I shook my head.  
>"No, Russians don't have any unregistered life forms," I said.<br>Frank sat back. "I still don't get it. If it's not Russians, and they're the only ones who could have taken us, then who did?" he asked.  
>"I'm not sure," I said. "But don't worry, I'll find out," I said, grinning. The smile went off my face, and I frowned.<br>"What is it?" Frank asked.  
>"How do you spell 'Russian'"? I asked.<br>Frank looked up. "Gee, I don't know," he said.  
>"I guess I've just got to sound it out," I said. "R...u...sh...a..."<p>

Above Ground...

The Doctor was scavenging for parts to build a gizmo. Solomon brought over a small Art Nouveau radio.  
>"How about this? I found it backstage," he asked.<br>"Perfect. It's the capacitors I need. I'm just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If I can get a chromosomal reading, I can find out where it's from," the Doctor said, sonicing the radio.  
>"How about you, Doctor? Where are you from? I've been all over. I never heard anybody talk like you. Just exactly who are you?" Solomon asked.<br>"Oh, I'm just sort of passing by," the Doctor said.  
>"I'm not a fool, Doctor," Solomon said.<br>"No. Sorry," the Doctor Solomon went over to the sewer entrance.  
>"I was so scared, Doctor. I let them take Frank because I was just so scared. I got to get back to Hooverville. With these creatures on the loose, we got to protect ourselves. Ain't no one else going to help us," Solomon said.<br>"Good luck," the Doctor said.  
>"I hope you find what you're looking for, for all our sakes," Solomon said, before leaving.<p>

Meanwhile, In Tallulah's Dressing Room...

Tallulah was getting ready for her next show, and Martha was helping.  
>"Laszlo. He'd wait for me after the show. Walk me home like I was a lady. He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose bud," Tallulah said.<br>"Haven't you reported him missing?" Martha asked.  
>"Sure. He's just a stagehand. Who cares? The management certainly don't," Tallulah said.<br>"Can't you kick up a fuss or something?" Martha asked.  
>"Okay, so then they fire me," Tallulah said.<br>"But they'd listen to you. You're one of the stars," Martha said.  
>"Oh, honey, I got one song in a back street revue and that's only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle. Which had nothing to do with me whatever anybody says. I can't afford to make a fuss. If I don't make this month's rent, then before you know it, I'm in Hooverville," Tallulah explained.<br>"Okay, I get it," Martha said.  
>"It's the Depression, sweetie. Your heart might break, but the show goes on. Because if it stops, you starve. Every night I have to go out there, sing, dance, keep going, hoping he's going to come back," Tallulah said.<br>"I'm sorry," Martha said.  
>"Hey, you're lucky, though. You got yourself a forward thinking guy with that hot potato in the sharp suit," Tallulah said.<br>"Er, he's not. We're not together," Martha stammered.  
>"Oh, sure you are. I've seen the way you look at him. It's obvious," Tallulah said.<br>"Not to him," Martha said.  
>"Oh, I should have realised," Tallulah said. "He's into musical theatre, huh? What a waste. Still, you got to live in hope. It's the only thing that's kept me going because, well, look. On my dressing table every day still," she pointed at a single white rose bud. "You think it's Laszlo?" Martha asked.<br>"I don't know. If he's still around, why is he being all secret like he doesn't want me to see him?" Tallulah asked.

In The Props Room...

The Doctor aimed a spotlight onto the jellyfish, which was pinned inside his gizmo, which in turn was powered by the sonic screwdriver.  
>"That's it. We need to heat you up," the Doctor said.<br>The Doctor put on his glasses and started to examine it.

In The Sewers...

Shadow stood, and Frank looked up at her.  
>"What are you doing?" he asked.<br>She looked down at him apologetically. "Sorry Frank, but I've got to go now. I'll be back," she said, before teleporting.  
>Frank stared open-mouthed at the place where Shadow had been.<br>I was going back to my Doctor. I had a bit to tell him, and also, I wasn't entirely sure he was safe on his own anymore. In the room, I had done a scan of the pigmen, and their DNA was basically human, although their intelligence had been lowered wuite a bit, and they physical features altered, they were human on a genetic level. I had to tell the Doctor, and see what he would mae of this. Apparently, whoever had put down the field of telekinetic energy had not been worried about teleporters. Just telepaths. And that brought up another problem. I stood a a cross roads in tunnels, and I had no idea which way to go. I was lost.

Meanwhile, In The Props Room...

The Doctor was listening to the jellyfish with a stethoscope.  
>"Fundamental DNA type four six seven dash nine eight nine. Nine eight nine. Hold on, that means planet of origin. Skaro," he said. He got up, and ran to the dressing rooms.<br>"It was like something out of a movie show," one of the performers was saying.  
>"Oh, that face. I ain't never going to sleep," another said.<br>"Where is she? Where's Martha?" the Doctor asked Tallulah.  
>"I don't know. She ran off the stage," Tallulah replied.<br>A scream sounded, and the Doctor and Tallulah ran towards the sound, into the props room.  
>"Martha!" the Doctor yelled.<br>The sewer entrance lid hadn't been put back properly. The Doctor put his coat on, and headed towards it.  
>"Where are you going?" Tallulah asked.<br>"They've taken her," he said simply, starting down the ladder.  
>"Who's taken her? What're you doing?" Tallulah asked. "I said, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled after him.<br>The Doctor looked at the tunnels, trying to decide which way to go, when Tallulah ran up to him.  
>"No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming," he said.<br>"Tell me what's going on," Tallulah demanded.  
>"There's nothing you can do. Go back," the Doctor said.<br>"Look, whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?" Tallulah pointed out.  
>"Tallulah, you're not safe down here," the Doctor protested.<br>"Then that's my problem. Come on. Which way?" Tallulah asked, heading down a tunnel.  
>"This way," the Doctor said.<br>Tallulah came back and followed him.

In Another Section Of The Sewers...

"No! Let me go!" Martha yelled.  
>Martha was pushed against a wall and a line of men was escorted past.<br>"Martha," Frank said.  
>"You're alive! Oh! I thought we'd lost you," Martha said, joining the line.<br>A pigman pushed Frank.  
>"All right, all right, we're moving," Martha said.<br>"Where are they taking us?" Frank asked.  
>"I don't know, but we can find out what's going on down here," Martha said.<p>

Still Another Part Of The Sewers...

{Shadow?} the Doctor asked.  
>I jumped.<br>{Doctor? How is this getting through? I scanned, there's a field of nega-} I stopped. {You're in the sewers, aren't you?} I sent.  
>{Uh, yep. Where are you?} the Doctor asked.<br>I heard noises ahead, and turned on my Shadow Device, before walking towards them. There was line of people being escorted through the tunnels by the pigmen. I started when I noticed Martha was amoung them.  
>{Doctor, the pigmen have Martha,} I sent, before realizing he probably already knew.<br>{I know, that's why I'm down here,} the Doctor said.  
>{That's another thing, I scanned a pigman, they're basically human. There's a bit of something else in there, but human genes are still dominant,} I sent.<br>{I've got news along those lines too. That organic life form we found in the tunnels? It's a sequence nine eigth nine,} he sent.  
>{Nine eight nine?} I asked. {But that would mean that it's origin is-}<br>{I know. There's something very fishy happening around here, and if it involves the Daleks, then it's a lot worse than just fishy,} he sent.  
>{I'll follow the pigmen and Martha. Try not to get yourself killed,} I sent. {I'll try. If you see anything that indicates where you are, show me, and I'll come,} he sent.<br>{Gotcha,} I sent, following Martha and the pigmen.

Back By Tallulah And The Doctor...

"When you say, they've taken her, who's they exactly? And who are you anyway? I never asked," Tallulah asked.  
>"Shush," the Doctor said.<br>"Okay, okay," Tallulah said, too loudly for the Doctor's liking.  
>"Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush," he said.<br>A Dalek shaped shadow was cast on the wall ahead of them.  
>"I mean you're handsome and all-" Tallulah tried to say.<br>The Doctor put his hand over her mouth and dragged her back into a service alcove until the Dalek was safely past.  
>They stepped out of the alcove, and looked at the corner that the Dalek had disappeared around.<br>"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he said. "They survived. They always survive while I lose everything," the Doctor said.  
>"That metal thing? What was it?" Tallulah asked.<br>"It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive," the Doctor said.  
>"You're kidding me," Tallulah said.<br>"Does it look like I'm kidding? Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive," the Doctor said.  
>"But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space. Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what's it doing here, in New York?" Tallulah asked.<br>"Every second you're down here, you're in danger. I'm taking you back right now," the Doctor said, leading Tallulah around a corner. There was a pigman there. Tallulah screamed and it tried to hide.  
>"Where's Martha? What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?" the Doctor yelled at it.<br>"I didn't take her," the pigman said.  
>"Can you remember your name?" the Doctor asked it.<br>"Don't look at me," the pigman said.  
>"Do you know where she is?" Tallulah asked, stepping forward.<br>"Stay back! Don't look at me," the pigman said. Tallulah stepped back again.  
>"What happened to you?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They made me a monster,'" the pigman said, his face still turned to the wall.  
>"Who did?" the Doctor asked.<br>"The masters," the pigman replied.  
>"The Daleks. Why?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They needed slaves. They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late," the pigman said.  
>"Do you know what happened to Martha?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They took her. It's my fault. She was following me," the pigman said.  
>"Were you in the theatre?" Tallulah asked.<br>"I never- Yes," the pigman said.  
>"Why? Why were you there?" Tallulah asked.<br>"I never wanted you to see me like this," the pigman said.  
>"Why me? What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?" Tallulah asked.<br>The pigman turned around so that Tallulah could see him.

"Yes," he said.  
>"Who are you?" Tallulah asked.<br>"I was lonely," the pigman said.  
>"Who are you?" Tallulah demanded.<br>"I needed to see you," he went on.  
>"Who are you?" Tallulah asked again, stepping forward.<br>"I'm sorry," the pigman said, hanging his head.  
>"No, wait," Tallulah said. She walked over and took his face in her hands. "Let me look at you. Laszlo? My Laszlo? Oh, what have they done to you?" Tallulah cried in horror.<br>"I'm sorry. So sorry," Laszlo said.  
>"Laszlo, can you show me where they are?" the Doctor asked.<br>"They'll kill you," Laszlo said.  
>"If I 't stop them, they'll kill everyone," the Doctor said.<br>"Then follow me," Laszlo said.

I tapped Martha on the shoulder. She turned around, and I smiled at her, putting a finger to my lips. She got the message, and turned back to the front of the line. I touched a finger to a patch of bare skin on her neck.  
>{Martha, can you hear me?} I asked.<br>She jumped, and I lost the connection. She looked back at me wide-eyed, and I held out my hand again. She looked at it dubiously, and then took it.  
>{Martha, this is just a temporary physcic link, it'll be broken as soon as we lose physical contact,} I sent. {If you want to tell me something, just send it at me.}<br>{Like this?} Martha asked experimentally.  
>{Very good, especially for a first try,} I complimented.<br>{Shadow, I see Martha,} the Doctor sent.  
>{Whoa, Doctor,} Martha said, getting a little bit dizzy.<br>{It might be best to give her a little time to adjust,} I sent to the Doctor.  
>{You linked with Martha?} he asked.<br>{Only temporarily. The link will be broken as soon as we lose physical contact,} I sent.  
>{Doctor? Can your hear me?} Martha tried.<br>{Uh, yep I can,} he sent back.  
>{Wait a minute, where are you?} I asked.<br>{Right behind you,} he sent. I turned, and he waved at me from around the corner.  
>{Who is that with you?} I asked.<br>{That's Tallulah,} Martha sent, picking up the image of the girl I was staring at.  
>{Oh, I have not met her,} I sent.<br>"What are they keeping us here for?" Frank whispered to Martha.  
>"I don't know. I've got a nasty feeling we're being kept in the larder," Martha whispered back. The pigmen started geting nervous.<br>"What're they doing? What's wrong? What's wrong?" Frank asked.  
>{Martha, for his own good, he must be silent,} I sent.<br>"Silence. Silence," came a voice. I froze.  
>{Doctor, it's a Dalek,} I sent.<br>{I see,} he sent back.  
>"What the hell is that?" Martha asked aloud.<br>{That is a Dalek,} I sent her.  
>{A Dalek? Like the ones the Doctor says about?} she asked.<br>{Exactly like those,} I sent.  
>"You will form a line. Move. Move," the Dalek said.<br>{Tell them to do as it says Martha,} the Doctor sent her. I was a little dizzy. The Doctor and Martha were using me as a kind of middle ground between their minds. Martha sent a thought to me, and the Doctor picked it up. I had twice as many thoughts flying around my head as normal.  
>"Just do what it says, everyone, okay? Just obey," Martha said.<br>"The female is wise. Obey," the Dalek said.  
>Another Dalek ame around the corner. "Report," the new Dalek said.<br>"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause," the first Dalek said. "What is the status of the Final Experiment?"  
>"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete," the second Dalek said.<br>"Then I will extract prisoners for selection," the first Dalek said. A pigman dragged an older black man forward.  
>"Intelligence scan, initiate," the first Dalek said. The Dalek put its sucker onto the man's face. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence," the Dalek said.<br>"You calling me stupid?" the man asked furiously.  
>"Silence! This one will become a pig slave. Next," the Dalek said.<br>"No, let go of me! I'm not becoming one of them! No! No!" the man yelled.  
>He was dragged away out of sight.<br>{Doctor, do you know what happens if you have low intelligence versus high intelligence?} I asked.  
>{Laszlo says that the low intelligence are taken away to be pig slaves. The high intelligence are taken off to something called the final experiment. Laszlo has no idea what that is,} the Doctor sent.<br>It was Frank's turn to be scanned.  
>"Superior intelligence," the Dalek said.<br>Martha was next. I ducked down, keeping our hands together, to avoid being detected.  
>"Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment," the Dalek said.<br>"You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhuman!" Martha protested.  
>"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory," the Dalek said.<br>We were hustled down the tunnels. I saw Tallulah and a pigman scurry out of sight, but the Doctor was nowhere to be seen.  
>{Doctor, where are you?} I asked.<br>{Right behind you,} he sent. I turned, to see him in line behind Martha. He waved at me slightly, and I glared at him.  
>{Doctor, get out of line, and back to the Tardis!} Martha sent at him forcefully. She swayed.<br>{Sorry,} I sent.  
>{What was that?} Martha asked.<br>{Very strong emotions will leak over sometimes,} the Doctor explained.  
>{You're lucky that she's got orders not to kick your ass,} Martha sent at him.<br>{I know,} he sent back.  
>The Daleks don't seem to have realised that they had two extra prisoners. We walked through a door, into a large room, full of equipment. I was tempted to scan some of it, but the Daleks would probably detect the energy spike, and know where it was coming from, so I held back.<br>"Report," the first Dalek said to a Dalek I recognised.  
>"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," Dalek Thay said.<br>{Doctor,} i sent.  
>{I know Shadow, i see,} he sent.<br>"Scan him. Prepare for birth," the first Dalek said.  
>"Evolution?" the Doctor asked aloud.<br>{Shh,} I sent harshly.  
>{What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?} Martha asked, indicating a Dalek that appeared to be steaming.<br>{Ask them,} the Doctor sent.  
>{What, me? Don't be daft} Martha said.<br>{I don't exactly want to get noticed. If they don't kill me, Shadow will for sure, orders of not,} he sent. {Ask them what's going on.}  
>"Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this Final Experiment? Report!" Martha said firmly. I was impressed.<br>"You will bear witness," the first Dalek said.  
>"To what?" Martha asked.<br>"This is the dawn of a new age," the first Dalek said.  
>{Would it kill them to just give us a straight answer?} I asked the Doctor.<br>{You are getting humor down,} he sent.  
>{I was not being humorous,} I sent. {I wonder how to spell Dalek. D...a...l...i}<br>{Nope, almost,} the Doctor sent encouragingly.  
>{Dal...E?} I asked.<br>{Right,} he sent.  
>{Is there a C, or a K on the end?} I asked.<br>{K,} he sent.  
>"What does that mean?" Martha asked, ignoring us.<br>"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again," the Dalek said.  
>Dalek Sec's shell stopped smoking and the light in its eye stalk dimmed, before going out. The casing opened and a biped struggled free. The casing shut and the biped straightened.<br>"What is it?" Martha asked. The life form had the one-eyed head and hands of a Dalek blob, but was wearing a suit that looked very familiar.  
>{Is that Diagoras' suit?} I asked.<br>{Looks like it,} Martha sent.  
>The Doctor just stared, as it took a deep breath and spoke with Diagoras' accent.<br>"I am a human Dalek. I am your future," it said.  
>{Human... h...oo-}<br>{Wrong Shadow,} Martha sent. 


	20. Evolution Of The Daleks

{H..u...m...a...n- I got it: H-U-M-A-N!} I sent.  
>Martha was too busy looking at Dalek Sec to notice.<br>"These…humans will become like me," Dalek Sec said.  
>{Shadow, could you cover me?} th eDoctor asked.<br>{I'll have to let go of Martha's hand,} I pointed out.  
>{You're going to have to do that anyway,} the Doctor said.<br>{Alright. Martha, you're going to feel a bit lonely once the link is broken,} I sent as way of warning. I took my hand away from hers. The Doctor hid behind me, moving towards some machinery. My Shadow Device kept him form being seen.  
>"Prepare them for hybridisation," Dalek said ordered. The pig slaves began to close in on Martha, Frank and the other prisoners. The Doctor picked up a radio.<br>"Leave me alone! Don't you dare!" Martha yelled at them.  
>The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the radio, and a song started playing.<br>{What are you doing?} I shrieked at him.  
>"What is that sound?" Dalek Sec demanded. I dived at him, but I was too late to stop him. The Doctor stepped out, still holding the device in his hands.<br>"That would be me," he said, setting the radio down. "Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et cetera," he said.  
>"Doctor," Dalek Sec said.<br>"The enemy of the Daleks," another Dalek said.  
>"Exterminate," said a third.<br>"Wait," Dalek Sec said.  
>"Well, then. A new form of Dalek," the Doctor said, walking towards Dalek Sec. I grabbed his hand, glaring at him when he tried to jerk away. "Fascinating and very clever," he said to Sec, ignoring me.<br>{Don't teleport just yet,} he sent.  
>{Why not?} I asked.<br>{Because you don't want to leave Frank and Martha here to be killed,} he sent. That got me. I really didn't. I cursed, and let go of his hand. I was a defective Unit. I would have to report to the Galva Neertan government for repairs... after I saved Martha and Frank. And this stupid Doctor.  
>"The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter," Dalek Sec said, oblivious to the exchange between the Doctor and I, even to my presnce in the room. Possibly to my existence. Existence. E...x - or maybe CS? Ecsistnence? I had to ask Martha. "How did you end up in 1930?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Emergency Temporal Shift," Sec said.  
>"Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, yeah?" the Doctor said. He strode away from Sec, looking around. I thought the Daleks must be stupid. If I were the, I would kill the Doctor on sight. But since I am me, it is a good thing that the Daleks are stupid. "Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world but instead your skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting," the Doctor went on. He took a deep breath. "All of which results in you," he said, looking at Sec.<br>"I am Dalek in human form," Sec said.  
>"What does it feel like? You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking right now," the Doctor asked.<br>"I…feel…humanity," Sec said.  
>"Good. That's good," the Doctor said.<br>"I…feel…everything we wanted from mankind, which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such…a genius for war," Sec said.  
>"No, that's not what humanity means," the Doctor said.<br>"I think it does. At heart, this species is so very…Dalek," Sec said.  
>"All right, so what have you achieved then? With this Final Experiment, eh? Nothing! 'Cause I can show you what you're missing with this thing," he said, pointing at the radio. "Simple little radio," he said. He patted it.<br>"What is the purpose of that device?" a Dalek asked.  
>"Well, exactly. It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it. Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's just noise," the Doctor said.<br>The Doctor aimed the sonic screwdriver at the radio and a high pitched wail emanated from it. Sec held his head in pain while the other Daleks- well, that's what I imagined an Earth cat acted like when there was a fire under it's ass.  
>The Doctor turned to the prisoners.<br>"Run!" the Doctor yelled.  
>The prisoners ran, the Doctor followed them, and I followed him.<br>Martha stops, at a juncture, unsure of which way to go. The Doctor rushed past.  
>"Come on! Move, move, move, move, move!" he yelled.<br>We ran down a tunnel to find Tallulah  
>"And you, Tallulah! Run!" he yelled at her.<br>"What's happened to Lazlo?" she asked in bewilderment, though she followed.  
>We ran around a corner, faced with a dead end. The Doctor looked around, and his eyes settled on me. I nodded.<br>"Everyone hold hands," I said, turning off my Shadow Device. They looked questioning, but we could hear the Daleks and the pigmen coming down the tunnels after us, and they obeyed. I grabbed the Doctor's hand in one of mine, and Martha's in the other. I was guessing. I had no idea how far down we were. If I didn't go far enough, we would end up being crushed to death by earth and concrete. If I went to far, we could end up crashing back down to earth, and dying that way. The first pigman came around the corner, and I decided thirty feet was safe. I teleported.

The Doctor groaned as he stood.  
>"You alright?" he asked Martha. They had been about seven feet to high up, but they had all survived the fall.<br>"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. She looked around. Shadow was lying on the ground a few feet away, unconcious. Martha went over, and looked at her head. "She fell in a bit of an awkward position," Martha told the Doctor.  
>He tried to poke their link, and backed away. "Yeah, she hit her head hard," he said, closing the link to keep her headache out of his head.<p>

Most of Hooverville was gathered around a fire. Martha and Tallulah were sitting on crates. Shadoe had been put in a tent, with Frank looking after her. The former prisoners had been telling Solomon of the Daleks.  
>"These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they wanna breed?" Solomon asked.<br>"They're splicing themselves into human bodies. If I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. We've got to get everyone out," the Doctor said.  
>"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go," Solomon said.<br>"I'm sorry, Solomon. You've got to scatter. Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state, just get out of New York," the Doctor said.  
>"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," Solomon said.<br>"There's not a chance," Martha said.  
>"You ain't seen 'em, boss," one of the men put in.<br>"Daleks are bad enough at anytime, but right now they're vulnerable and that makes them more dangerous than ever," the Doctor said.  
>"They're coming! They're coming!" a man yelled, running into camp.<br>"A sentry. Must have seen something," Solomon said.  
>"They're here! I seen 'em! Monsters! They're monsters!" the man said, hysterical.<br>"It's started," the Doctor said, standing.  
>"We're under attack! Everyone to arms!" Solomon yelled.<br>The men started passing out the guns and other weapons they had collected. Frank came out of the tent that held Shadow. "I'm ready, boss, but al o' you! Find a weapon! Use anything!" Frank said.  
>Some of the residents tried to run off.<br>"Come back! We gotta stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!" Solomon yelled after them.  
>The pigmen came into view, and began attacking those who tried to run off.<br>"We need to get out of the park," Martha said.  
>"We can't! They're on all sides. They're driving people back towards us," the Doctor said.<br>"We're trapped," Tallulah said.  
>"Then we stand together. Gather 'round. Everybody come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together," Solomon said.<br>The pigmen forced everyone into a tight circle by the fire.  
>"They can't take all of us," Solomon said. He started firing.<br>"If we can just hold them off till daylight," Martha said desperately.  
>The Doctor looked skywards. "Oh, Martha, they're just the foot soldiers," he said.<br>Everyone turned and looked up.  
>"Oh, my God," Martha said.<br>A Dalek was flying above, heading towards them.  
>"What in this world—" Solomon said.<br>"It's the devil. A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation," a man said.  
>"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Frank said.<br>Frank fired at the Dalek but the bullets didn't damage it. The Doctor pushed his rifle down.  
>"That's not gonna work," he said.<br>"There's more than one of them," Martha said.  
>The Daleks began to fire upon the settlement causing explosions and starting fires.<br>"The humans will surrender," a Dalek said.  
>The Doctor stepped forward, and couldn't help feeling just a little bit glad that Shadow wasn't concious at the moment.<br>"Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you!" he yelled at the Dalek.  
>"We have located the Doctor!" the other Dalek said.<br>Solomon steps forward and the Doctor grabbed him by the arm.  
>"No, Solomon. Stay back," the Doctor warned.<br>"I'm told that I'm addressin' the Daleks, is that right?" Solomon asked. "From what I hear, you're outcasts, too."  
>"Solomon, don't," the Doctor said.<br>"Doctor, this is my township, you will respect my authority," Solomon said. "Just let me try."  
>Solomon pushed the Doctor away. The Doctor stepped back, shaking his head.<br>"Daleks…ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" Solomon said, setting his rifle on the ground. "'Cause, see, I've just discovered this past day God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah. Terrifies me. Right down to the bone. But it's got to give me hope…hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So I…I beg you now if you have any compassion in your hearts then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well…what do you say?" Solomon asked.  
>"Exterminate!" a Dalek said.<br>The Dalek fired upon Solomon, killing him.  
>"No!" Frank yelled.<br>Everyone started screaming, and a few tried to run off into the woods, only to be scared back ny the pigmen. Frankd rushed to Solomon's side.  
>"No! Solomon!" he yelled.<br>"They killed him," Martha said, shocked. "They just shot him on the spot."  
>"Daleks!" the Doctor said angrily. He stepped forward, arms out to his side, and confronted the Daleks.<br>"All right, so it's my turn! Then kill me! Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people!" the Doctor said.  
>"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy," one of the Daleks said.<br>"Then do it! Do it! Just do it!" he said, beating his chest. "Do it!"  
>"Extermin—" the Dalek started. but stopped.<br>There was a pause. "I do not understand. It is the Doctor," the Dalek said.  
>There was another pause.<br>"The urge to kill is too strong," the Dalek said.  
>Another pause. Martha was beginning to think they were hearing half of a conversation.<br>"I…obey," the Doctor said.  
>"What's going on?" the Doctor asked.<br>"You will follow," the Dalek said.

"No! You can't go!" Martha protested.  
>"I've got to go. The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks never change their minds," the Doctor said.<br>"But what about us?" Martha asked.  
>The Doctor looked back at the people of Hooverville before facing the Dalek.<br>"One condition! If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here! Do you hear me?" he said.  
>"The humans will be spared. Doctor…follow," the Dalek commanded.<br>"Then I'm coming with you," Martha said.  
>"Martha, stay here. Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let me go," the Doctor said.<br>Martha looked at the Doctor as he looked at the Daleks before striding off to follow them. Martha felt hurt, and alone. What if he got himself killed, and she was stranded in New York during the Depression?  
>The Doctor paused and looked back.<br>"Oh, and can I just say, thank you very much," the Doctor said, walking back to her. He gripped her hand with both of his and winked. As he walked off, Martha saw that he had given her the psychic paper.

The first thing I was aware of was a pain in my head that was simply indescribable. It was the worst pain I had felt up to that point in my life. I sat up, and a wave of dizziness hit me. My hand went to my head, and I felt blood. Had I been shot? I reached for the Doctor, but I couldn't get through. He was either in the sewers, or blocking me. Or maybe he was dead, and this was what dying felt like. I took a breath and stood, ignoring the sick lurching feeling in my stomach and the sharpened pain in my head. I walked out of the tent. Frank was sitting outside, staring into empty space. He looked up at me in alarm when I tried to walk past, stumbling and just barely catching myself.  
>"Hey, Martha said to make sure you stayed in bed," Frank said, trying to drag me back into the tent.<br>"Leave me be," I said. "Where's the Doctor?" I asked.  
>He wasn't about to give up. "No ma'am, she said not to let you ask, and not to tell," he said, picking me up. I struggled weakly, and he dumped me on the cot in the tent. I lay still for a minute as the pain in my head got worse, something I had not thought was possible.<br>"Oh, I'm sorry, did I get your head?" he asked, sounding ashamed. I tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down, as gently as he could.  
>"Stop it Frank, I need to find the Doctor," I said. He wouldn't let me up, but I wasn't about to give up. I kept trying to get up, and he kept pushing me back down. I stopped, and lay still. When he backed away, I tried to make a run for it, only to fall back onto the cot, too dizzy to do much else. We struggled a bit more, and then we both had to sit for a while, gasping for breath.<br>"Geesh, you sure don't give up easy," he said.  
>"I'm not giving up any time soon, so you could help me up instead of killing me like this," I said.<br>He thought about it for a minute, and then sighed. "If I say no, you're just gonna keep trying to go anyway, right?" he asked. I nodded.  
>"And I may damage myself even more in the process," I added for good measure.<br>He sighed again. "Alrighty then, let's go," he said, helping me sit up. After the wave of dizziness passed, he helped me to my feet, and tried to put his arm around my waist. I pushed it away though.  
>"I'm good, it's just the first step ," I said. He nodded, and followed me out of the tent. I stumbled a few times, but he caught me whenever it looked like I was going to hit the ground, and I mumbled thanks each time. We made our way to a fire, where I could see Martha and Tallulah, sitting, their backs to Frank and me.<br>"I don't know. Maybe like a…lightening conductor or…Dalekanium!" Martha was saying.  
>"Oh," Tallulah said, sounding like she didn't understand.<br>"They said the Dalekanium was in place," Martha said.  
>"In place where?" Tallulah asked.<br>"I could scan for it," I suggested.  
>Martha turned to me, startled. "Shadow, you need to get back to bed, you have a concuss-"<br>I held a hand up, stopping her. "I can scan for Dalekanium." I sat down before she could protest, and turned the scan up as high as I could, and set it to look specifically for Dalekanium. I looked over at the tallest building in the world. I pointed.  
>"It's in top of the Empire State building," I said. I stood, and held out my hand to<br>Martha. Martha shook her head.  
>"No, you're staying here," she said.<br>"I am not," I replied steadily.  
>"We'll post a guard on you if we have to, but you're staying here," Martha insisted.<br>"Then I'll just teleport out," I said. She didn't look like she knew how to argue with that. She sighed.  
>"Fine, but you don't need to teleport us in, because I know that costs you energy," she said.<br>"They'll never let us in," I pointed out.  
>"Yeah, but I've got this," Martha said, pulling the psychic paper out of a pocket. I stared at it, and then looked at her.<br>"Martha, where is the Doctor?" I asked.  
>"He went with the Daleks," Martha said.<br>I blocked out the throbbing in my head all the way, protective instincts taking over. I turned, and started running towards the empire state building. Frank, Martha and Tallulah ran after me.

We were in a service lift of the Empire State Building.  
>"I always wanted to go to the Empire State. Never imagined it quite like this, though," Martha said.<br>"Where are we headed anyway?" Frank asked.  
>"To the top where they're still building," I said.<br>"How come those guys just let us through? How's that thing work?" Tallulah asked.  
>"Psychic paper. Shows them whatever I want them to think. According to this, we're two engineers and an architect," Martha said.<br>"That's three. There's four of us," Frank said confusedly.  
>Martha looked at me. "No, there's four of us, and a Shadow," Martha corrected him.<br>The lift stopped, and we got out on the top floor. I poked my link with the Doctor.  
>{Doctor?} I asked experimentally.<br>{Shadow? Is that you? Yes, of course it is, sorry. Wait, you're in the building. Why are you in the building, you have a concussion!} he sent angrily.  
>{Zip it Moron,} I sent back, my head pounding.<br>{Is Martha with you Tei?} he asked.  
>{Yes she is, as well as Tallulah and Frank. We're on the top floor. Where are you, and why aren't you dead?} I asked.<br>{Dalek Sec. He's gone human, the good way,} the Doctor said.  
>{Show me where you are,} I sent.<br>{Don't try to teleport me out,} he said.  
>{I won't, where are you?} I asked again.<br>He showed me, and I teleported.

Martha spotted the architectural plans.  
>"Okay, now this looks good," Martha said. She turned around. "Shadow, I-" she stopped. "Damn her," she muttered under her breath, realizing that her patient had teleported.<br>"Hey, look at the date. These designs were issued today. They must've changed something last minute," Frank said, examining the blueprints.  
>"You mean the Daleks changed something?" Martha said, pushing thoughts of Shadow to the side.<br>"Yeah, could be," Frank said.  
>"The ones underneath, they're from before. That means that whatever they changed must be on this top sheet but not this one. We need to check one against the other," Martha said.<br>"The height of this place! This is amazing!" Tallulah said.  
>"Careful, we're a hundred floors up. Don't go wandering off," Martha warned.<br>"I just wanna see," Tallulah said.  
>Tallulah walked to the open area overlooking the city. She smiled.<br>"New York City. If aliens had to come to Earth, no wonder they came here," she said.

{You are helping a new race of Daleks into existence?} I asked in horror when the Doctor explained to me what was happening.  
>{Yes I am,} he said.<br>{Doctor, Daleks are number-} I stopped, shaking my head to clear it. {Daleks are no good,} I said instead.  
>The Doctor was checking the equipment and readouts.<br>{They can change Tei,} he insisted.  
>"There's no point in chromosomal grafting. It's too erratic. You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-human sequence right into the cortex," he said aloud to Sec.<br>"We need more chromatin solution," Sec said.  
>"The pig slaves have it," another Dalek said.<br>The pig slaves walked into the room carrying a large crate.  
>"These pig slaves, what happens to them in the grand plan?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Nothing. They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks. Power up the engine feeds," Sec said.  
>The Doctor spotted Lazlo and walked over.<br>"Lazlo, I can't undo what they've done to you, but they won't do it to anyone else," the Doctor promised. I looked around at the Daleks uneasily.  
>"Do you trust him?" Laszlo asked.<br>"I know that one man can change the course of history," the Doctor said.  
>I noticed on of the Daleks watching us, and tensed.<br>"Right idea in the right place at the right time is all it takes. I've got to believe it's possible," the Doctor said. I hoped he was right, for all out sakes, but I had a horrible feeling in my gut. And it didn't help that my head was pounding. I had the Daleks to blame for that, so I was even less inclined to trust them then I normally would have been.

Martha had the plans spread out on the floor and was kneeling, studying them. Frank and Tallulah were standing nearby.  
>"I'll go and keep an eye out, make sure we're safe up here. Don't want nobody buttin' in," Frank said. He walked out a side door.<br>"There's a hell of a storm movin' in," Tallulah said.  
>"I wish the Doctor was here. He'd know what we're looking for," Martha said.<br>"So tell me, where did you and him first hook up?" Tallulah asked.  
>"It was in a hospital, sort of," Martha said.<br>"'Course, him bein' a doctor," Tallulah said.  
>Tallulah went over to kneel beside Martha.<br>"Actually, I'm a doctor. Well, kind of," Martha said.  
>"You're a physician?" Tallulah asked.<br>Martha nodded.  
>"Really?" Tallulah asked.<br>"I was training. Still am, if I ever get back home," Martha said.  
>"You could be doctors together," Tallulah said. She gasped. "What a partnership. Oh, it's such a shame. If only he wasn't so…different. You know what I mean?" she asked.<br>"Oh, you have no idea how different he really is," Martha said.  
>"Yeah, he's a man, sweetheart. That's different enough," Tallulah said.<br>"He had this…companion a while back. This friend. And ever since then he's been on his own. But you know, sometimes I say something or do something and he looks at me, and I just sort of think…that he's not seeing me. He's just remembering," Martha said.  
>"Aw, listen sweetheart. You wanna get all sad? You wanna have a contest with me and Lazlo?" Tallulah said.<br>"No. But listen, if the Doctor's with Lazlo now, there's every chance that he could get him out," Martha said.  
>"And then what? Don't talk crazy. There's no future for me and him. Those Dalek things took that away. The one good thing I had in my life and they destroyed it," Tallulah said.<br>She stood, and walked back to the open area.

"The line feeds are ready," a Dalek said.  
>The Doctor rushed up to a bunch of tubes and extracted the solution inside with a syringe.<br>"Then it's all systems go," the Doctor said.  
>"The solar flare is imminent. The radiation…will reach Earth in a matter of minutes," Sec said.<br>"We'll be ready for it," the Doctor said.  
>The Doctor inserted the syringe into one of the main feeding tubes and injected the solution.<br>{Are you sure this is a good idea?} I asked.  
>{It has to be,} he sent back.<br>"That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. Power up!" he said aloud.  
>One of the pig slaves turned on a power switch as did Lazlo.<br>"Start…the line feeds," Sec said.  
>One of the Daleks started the machinery and I could see the solution start moving through the tubes.<br>"There goes the gene solution," the Doctor said.  
>"The life blood," Sec said.<br>The solution began coursing up to the bodies.

"Gotcha! Look!" Martha said.  
>Tallulah joined her looking at the plans.<br>"There, on the mast. Those little lines? They're new. They've added something, see?" Martha pointed.  
>"Added what?" Tallulah asked.<br>They looked at each other.  
>"Dalekanium!" they both said at the same time.<br>Martha laughed.

A klaxon sounded and red warning lights flashed. I looked around in alarm.  
>"What's that?" the Doctor asked.<br>"What's happening? Is there a malfunction? Answer me," Sec demanded.  
>"No, no, no. The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!" the Doctor yelled, panicking. He rushed to the controls in an attempt to fix it.<br>"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders," Sec said.

"The Doctor will step away from the controls," a Dalek said.  
>The Doctor backed away. I started edging towards him.<p>

"Stop! You will not fire," Sec ordered.

"He is an enemy of the Daleks," the first Dalek said.  
>"And so are you," a second said.<br>The Daleks had their weapons aimed at the Doctor and Dalek Sec. I was still too far away to do anything.  
>"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec," Sec said.<br>"You have lost your authority," the third Dalek said,  
>"You are no longer a Dalek," the second said.<br>"What have you done with the gene feed?" the Doctor asked.  
>{Try not to get shot until I can get to you,} I sent.<br>"The new bodies will be 100% Dalek," the third Dalek said.  
>"No. You can't do this!" Sec said."<br>"Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec and the Doctor," the first Dalek said.  
>Two pigmen grabbed Dalek Sec and one of the pig slaves that grabbed the Doctor was Lazlo. That was a relief, but I still couldn't teleport with the Doctor.<br>"Release me. I created you. I am your master," Sec said. I had reached the Doctor, and I grabbed his hand, looking at Laszlo, who could not see me. I turned the Shadow Device off, and grabbed his hand.  
>"Solar flare approaching," the second Dalek said.<br>"Prepare to intercept," the third said. I teleported with Laszlo and the Doctor.

We appeared on the top floor, just outside of the elevator.  
>"Doctor!" Martha yelled when she spotted us. She saw me, and put her hands on her hips. "I told you not to teleport Shadow, you look awful," she said.<br>"Tei, is fine," the Doctor said, putting stress on my name. Martha looked confused, and then a look of understanding settled on her face.  
>"Oh, okay," she said.<br>"I never thought I'd see you again!" Tallulah said.  
>Tallulah rushed over to Lazlo and he met her halfway. They hugged enormously.<br>"No stopping me," Laszlo said.  
>Martha led the Doctor over to the plans.<br>"We worked it out. We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you too, by thy way," she said.  
>"Oh, come here," the Doctor said.<br>The Doctor grabbed Martha in a big hug and twirled her about. He dropped her abruptly as the lift bell dinged. He ran to try and stop it.

"No, no, no. See, never waste time with a hug," he said.  
>He used the sonic screwdriver on the panel. "It's a deadlock seal. I can't stop it," he said.<br>"Where's it going?" Martha asked.  
>"Right down to the Daleks. And they're not going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?" the Doctor asked.<br>"11:15," Frank said.  
>"Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits," the Doctor said.<br>"Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" Tallulah asked.  
>"Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency," I told her. She stared at me like I was crazy. I shrugged, and followed the Doctor, Martha, Frank and Laszlo outside, Tallulah following me.<br>"And we've got to go even higher," Martha was saying. "That's the mast up there, look. There's three pieces of Dalekanium at the base. We've got to get 'em off."  
>"That's not "we". That's just me," the Doctor said.<br>"I'm coming too," I said. He looked at me, and nodded.  
>"I won't just stand here and watch you," Martha said.<br>"No, you're gonna have your hands full, anyway. I'm sorry, Martha, but you've got to fight," the Doctor said.  
>The Doctor looked at the scaffolding, thinking of climbing it. I just grabbed his hand and teleported.<br>We emerged into rain and high winds, and I almost lost my balance before grabbing onto a pole. The Doctor reached the base of the mast, took out his sonic screwdriver and used it on the bolts holding the Dalekanium. He pulls off one panel and moves to the second. I went to the third, to try and loosen the bolts a bit for him. The Doctor cired out, and went to the edge of the building, looking down at the street below.  
>{What is it?} I asked.<br>{I dropped the sonic,} he sent.  
>{Now what?} I asked. He was silent for a minute, and then looked at me.<br>{Teleport down and see if you can find it,} he sent.  
>{Really?} I asked.<br>{Tei, it's the only thing to do. We have to try,} he sent. I nodded, and teleported.  
>I looked up, and tried to gauge where the screwdriver had fallen. I walked a ways, and then started looking on the ground.<p>

The Doctor had not sent Tei to look for the sonic screwdriver. He knew there was no way she would find it. But he had a plan, and he knew she would never let him put it into action. He had been getting her out of the way. He looked up at the sky and climbed onto the mast, just a few seconds before the lightening hit.

I stiffened as pain came coursing through the link, pain that put my head to shame. I screamed, falling over in the sidewalk as I saw through his mind. We were both in too much pain to keep separate anymore, he and I actually switching places. I could hear myself screaming, from his side of the link, as he heard himself screaming from my side. Then the pain stopped, as he went unconcious. I went limp, staring at the sky in shock, breathing hard.  
>{Doctor?} I sent, getting absolutely nothing.<br>I lay there for a few minutes, before I stood shakily, my head pounding with renewed vigor. I winced, and looked up. I teleported.  
>Back up on top of the building, I looked around. The Doctor was lying on the edge of the building. I grabbed his arm, and pulled, trying to get him away from the edge, and collapsing from the effort. My head was absolutely pounding now, it felt like it would split in half. I did the last thing I could. I took his hand and teleported, just a few feet down, back inside.<p>

Martha stared at the dead pig slaves in the lift. Frank puts his arm over her shoulders.  
>"You did it, Martha," Tallulah said.<br>"They used to be like Lazlo. They were people and I killed 'em," Martha said.  
>"No," Laszlo said. "The Daleks did that long before you got here."<br>"Martha," a voice said from behind. Martha turned to see Tei and the Doctor lying on the ground. The Doctor looked like he was unconcious, and Tei's head was bleeding. Martha rushed over to her.  
>"Hey, what happened?" she asked.<br>"This idiot got hit by lightening," Tei said. She paused. "I'm gonna wake up, and I won't be able to call him idiot, will I?" she asked.  
>"That's okay though Tei," Martha said. "Because the Doctor's gonna help you remember."<br>"But I don't want to forget," Tei whispered. "I want to remember now." She paused. "I want to know what Jake means," she said.  
>"Jake, who's that?" Martha asked, trying to keep her awake.<br>"I don't know," Tei said. "I just have that name, it keeps popping up in my head. I don't know," she said. Tei's features contorted in pain, and she closed her eyes.  
>Martha felt her neck for a pulse. There was one. Tei was just sleeping.<p>

The Doctor groaned. "Oh my head," he said, feeling Tei's headache.  
>"Hiya," Martha said, relieved.<br>"Hi. You survived then," the Doctor said. He saw Tei on the floor.  
>"So did you. Just about. Did you stop it?" Martha asked. The Doctor got up.<br>"No, I couldn't stop them," he said. "The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading their soldiers out underneath Manhattan," he said.  
>"How do we stop them?" Laszlo asked.<br>"There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first," he said.  
>"But what does that mean?" Martha asked.<br>"We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space, somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way. Tallulah!" he said.  
>"That's me. Three Ls and an H," Tallulah said.<br>"The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Don't see why not," she shrugged.<br>"Is there another lift?" the Doctor asked.  
>"We came up in the service elevator," Martha said.<br>"That'll do. Allons-y!" he said. He turned to Frank. "Not you I'm afraid, I need someone to stay here an look after Tei while we're gone," he said.  
>"Tei?" Frank asked in confusion.<br>He pointed at Shadow. "That's her right there. Martha, Laszlo, and Tallulah, come on," he said, heading to the lift. Frank watched the lift doors, close, and went to sit next to Tei.

The Doctor, Martha, Tallulah and Lazlo arrived at the darkened theatre.  
>"This should do it. Here we go," he said.<br>The Doctor switches on the sonic screwdriver.  
>"There ain't nothin' more creepy than a theatre in the dark. Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for showtunes, but there's a time and place, hunh?" Tallulah said.<br>Lazlo fell into one of the chairs beside her.  
>"Lazlo, what's wrong?" Tallulah asked, sitting down on the chair next to his.<br>"Nothing. It's just so hot," Laszlo said.  
>"But…it's freezing in here. Doctor, what's happening to him?" Tallulah asked.<br>The Doctor was listening to the sonic screwdriver, checking its frequency. "Not now, Tallulah. Sorry," he said.  
>"What are you doing?" Martha asked.<br>"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll wanna find their number one enemy. I'm just telling them where I am," the Doctor said.  
>The Doctor held up the sonic screwdriver and turned it on.<br>"Martha, go with Tallulah and Laszlo, back to Hooverville, and pick up Tei on the way there too," the Doctor told Martha.  
>"I'm not going anywhere," Martha said.<br>"Martha, I m telling you, go," he said, pointing at the exit.  
>"And I'm telling you I'm not going," Martha argued.<br>"Martha, that's an order," the Doctor said.  
>"Who are you, then? Some sort of Dalek?" Martha asked.<br>The doors to the theatre burst open and the human Daleks arrived, flanking them.  
>"Oh, my God! Well I guess that's them then, hunh?" Tallulah said.<br>"Humans…with Dalek DNA," Martha said.  
>Laszlo moved to attack them but the Doctor pulled him back.<br>"It's all right. Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them," he said. Laszlo collapsed gratefully back into the chair.  
>"But what about the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo asked.<br>There was an explosion on stage and the Doctor and the others ducked behind the seats for cover. The Doctor peered over the seats, to see Dalek Thay and Dalek Jast, with Dalek Sec chained and walking on all fours. The Doctor stood slowly and the others peeked up over the chairs.  
>"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks," Dalek Thay said.<br>The Doctor stepped over a chair and walked forward on the backs of the rows until he reached the front row.  
>"You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age," Dalek Thay said.<br>"Planet Earth will become New Skaro," Dalek Jast said.  
>"Oh, and what a world," the Doctor said. "With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new empire? Hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?" he asked.<br>"My Daleks…just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you," Sec said.  
>"Incorrect. We will always survive," Dalek Thay said.<br>"Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor," Dalek Jast said.  
>"But he can help you," Sec said.<br>"The Doctor must die," Dalek Thay said.  
>"No, I beg you, don't," Sec said.<br>Sec crawled in front of Dalek Jast.  
>"Exterminate!" Dalek Jast said. Sec stood just as Dalek Jast fired. Sec was killed instantly.<br>"Your own leader," the Doctor said disgustedly. "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him." He turned to the human Daleks. "Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?" he asked them. He turned back to the Pure Daleks.  
>"If I'm gonna die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek-Humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptize them," he said.<br>"If you get killed, Tei's going to have my teeth for a necklace," Martha muttered.  
>The Doctor ignored her, holding his arms out to his sides.<br>"Dalek-Humans, take aim," Dalek Thay said.  
>The Dalek-Humans cocked their weapons and aimed them at the Doctor.<p>

"What are you waiting for? Give the command!" the Doctor said.  
>"Exterminate!" Dalek Thay said.<br>The Doctor closed his eyes and Martha ducked her head. Nothing happened.  
>"Exterminate!" Dalek Jast ordered this time.<br>Still nothing happened.  
>"Obey. Dalek-Humans will obey," Dalek Thay said,<br>"Not firing," Martha said. "What have you done?" she asked the Doctor.  
>"You will obey. Exterminate," Dalek Jast said.<br>"Why?" one of the human daleks asked.  
>The Doctor looks at the man.<br>"Daleks do not question orders," Dalek Thay said.  
>"But why?" the man asked.<br>"You will stop this," Dalek Thay ordered.  
>"But…why?" the man asked.<br>"You must not question," Dalek Thay said.  
>"But you are not our master. And we…we are not Daleks," the man said.<br>"No, you're not, and you never will be," the Doctor said. He turned back to the Daleks. "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightening strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom," he said.  
>"If they will not obey, then they must die," Dalek Jast said.<br>Dalek Jast shot the man who had spoken.  
>"Get down!" the Doctor yelled. They all ducked behind the seats as Daleks and the new race that were not, would never be, Daleks, began to fire on each other.<br>"Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Daleks said.  
>Dalek Jast was blown up.<br>"Extermin—" Dalek Thay was destroyed midsentence.  
>The human Daleks stopped firing. Martha, Tallulah and Lazlo stood. The Doctor went over to one of the hybrids.<br>"It's all right. It's all right. It's all right. You did it. You're free," the Doctor said to a man.  
>All the hybrids gripped their heads and screamed in pain, before crumbling to the ground, dead.<br>"No!" the Doctor yelled.  
>"They can't! They can't! They can't!" the Doctor yelled.<br>Martha joined him beside one of the bodies.  
>"What happened? What was that?" Martha asked.<br>"They killed 'em. Rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide," the Doctor said.  
>"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Dalek masters must still be alive," Laszlo said.<br>The Doctor stood.  
>"Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one," the Doctor said. He got up, heading back to the empire state building.<p>

Frank was looking at Shadow, because he thought it was a whole lot better to stare at her than the wall. He'd thought she looked awfully uncomfortable on the bare floor, so he'd put her head on his jacket. It wasn't much, but he thought it beat the floor. Without thinking, he reached over and brushed a bit of hair out of her eyes, and it occurred to him that she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

The Dalek was connected to the battle computer. The Doctor entered at the other end of the room.

"Now what?" the Doctor asked it.  
>"You will be exterminated," the Dalek said.<br>"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek- What was your name?" he asked.  
>"Dalek Caan," it replied.<br>The Doctor walked forward. "Dalek Caan. Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated. Leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion. 'Cause I've just seen one genocide. I won't cause another. Caan…let me help you. What do you say?" he asked.  
>"Emergency Temporal Shift!" Dalek Caan said.<br>Dalek Caan disappeared, leaving wires hanging and a very angry Doctor, who charged too late. Martha and Tallulah entered helping to support Lazlo.  
>"Doctor! Doctor! He's sick," Martha said.<br>Lazlo was breathing heavily, wheezing. They lowered him to the floor, Tallulah cradling him on her lap.  
>"It's okay. You're all right," Martha said.<br>The Doctor approached them and knelt.  
>"It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it," Martha said.<br>"What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?" Tallulah asked.  
>"It's time, sweetheart," Laszlo said.<br>"What do you mean "time"? What are you talking about?" Tallulah asked.  
>"None of the slaves …survive for long. Most of them only live a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on 'cause I had you. But now…I'm dyin', Tallulah," Laszlo said.<br>"No you're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do somethin'?" Tallulah begged.  
>"Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H…just you watch me," the Doctor said.<br>The Doctor stood and took off his coat.  
>"What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Lazlo, just you hold on," he said.<br>The Doctor ran about the lab, mixing up a solution, talking all the while.  
>"There's been too many deaths today. Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you right now, I am not having one more death! Got that? Not one! Tallulah, out of the way," he said. The Doctor took a stethoscope out of his pock and put it on.<br>"The Doctor is in," he said.

Shadow was back in the Tardis. The Doctor had fixed her head with the nanos(Martha had ogled). The Doctor, Martha, Tallulah, and Lazlo—bundled in an overcoat and hat—were waiting by a park bench. Frank joined them.  
>"Well I talked to 'em and I told 'em what Solomon would've said and I reckon I shamed one or two of 'em," he said.<br>"What did they say?" the Doctor asked.  
>"They said yes," Frank said.<br>Tallulah hugged Lazlo.  
>"They'll give you a home, Lazlo. I mean, uh, don't imagine people ain't gonna stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for, people who ain't got nowhere else," Frank said.<br>"Thank you. I—I can't thank you enough," Laszlo said.

Frank watched Martha and the Doctor as they walked away. He had briefly considered asking to go with them, but he had taken Solomon's leadership of Hooverville. He remembered something.  
>"Martha! Wait a minute!" he yelled. She turned.<br>"Yeah?" she asked.  
>"Don't forget to tell Shadow how to spell Russian right," he reminded her.<br>She smiled. "I won't Frank," she said. He waved as they turned, walking away. He smiled and turned, walking back to Hooverville.

Martha and the Doctor were looking out at the Manhattan skyline.  
>"Do you reckon it's gonna work, those two?" Martha asked, meaning Tallulah and Laszlo.<br>"I don't know. Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York, that's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig-slave-Dalek-mutant-hybrid too," the Doctor said, smiling.  
>"The pig and the showgirl," Martha laughed.<br>"The pig and the showgirl," the Doctor said, still smiling.  
>"Just proves it, I suppose. There's someone for everyone," Martha said.<br>The Doctor's smile disappeared. "Maybe," he said.  
>The Doctor walked to the Tardis and Martha followed.<br>Martha sighed. "Meant to say…sorry," she said.  
>"What for?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Just 'cause that Dalek got away. I know what that means to you. Think you'll ever see it again?" she asked.  
>The Doctor unlocked the Tardis.<br>"Oh yes," he said.  
>Martha entered and the Doctor paused in the doorway. "One day," he said.<br>The Doctor went inside and closed the door.


	21. The Lazarus Experiment

The Tardis landed, and the Doctor put on the hand brake. Martha and the Doctor were in the control room, and Shadow was still unconcious in her room.  
>"There we go. Perfect landing. Which isn't easy in such a tight spot," the Doctor said.<br>"You should be used to tight spots by now. Where are we?" Martha asked.  
>"The end of the line. No place like it," the Doctor replied. Martha went outside.<br>"Home. You took me home?" she asked.  
>"In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all, really," the Doctor said.<br>"But all the stuff we've done. Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?" Martha asekd.  
>"Yep, all in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry. So, back were you were, as promised," the Doctor said.<br>"This is it?" Martha asked.  
>"Yeah, I should probably er-" Martha's phone rung and the answering machine started up.<br>"Hi, I'm out. Leave a message," it said.  
>"I'm sorry," Martha said to the Doctor.<br>"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?" a woman's voice came from the machine.  
>"It's Mum. It'll wait," Martha said.<br>"All right then, pretend that you're out if you like. I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested," Martha'a mother said. Martha went over and turned on the television, which was on stand by.  
>"The details are top secret," said an elderly man on the TV. Tish was standing next to him.<br>"How could Tish end up on the news?" Martha asked.  
>"Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world," the man on TV said.<br>"She's got a new job. PR for some research lab," Martha said.  
>"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human," the man said.<br>Martha put the TV back on standby.

"You were saying we should?" Martha asked.  
>"Yes, yes, we should. One trip is what we said," the Doctor said.<br>"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated," Martha said.  
>"Mmm. Seems to happen to me a lot," the Doctor said.<br>"Thank you. For everything," Martha said.  
>"It was my pleasure," the Doctor said. He turned to get back in the Tardis, when Martha remembered something.<br>"Oh, tall Martha how to spell Russian when she wakes up, right?" she asked.  
>"Will do," he said. He Doctor disappeared into the Tardis, and it dematerialised. Then it rematerialised. The Doctor poked his head out.<br>"No, I'm sorry. Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?" he asked.

Shadow opened her eyes, and jumped up out of bed in alarm, remembering what had happened the last time she'd over slept.  
>{Doctor?} she sent.<br>{Oh, you're up,} the Doctor sent.  
>{Where are you?} she asked, no longer panicking, but still slightly concerned.<br>{I'm at a place called Lazarus Laboratories,} he sent, along with how he'd gotten there.  
>{I'm coming,} I sent.<p>

"Shadow's awake, she'll be coming soon," he said to Martha. She looked at him.  
>"So what is it with her, sometimes you call her Tei, sometimes you don't?" she asked.<br>"When she breifly remembers who she is, I call her Tei. If I call her Tei any other time, she remembers, and goes to sleep, and wakes up with a clean slate," he explained.  
>"So how does that memory chip work?" Martha asked, curious.<br>"It removes all memories relating to her identity," he said. "Anything that makes her Tei is erased. Emotions like love, and hate, and annoyance all go out the window." He fiddled with his tie as they got closer to the building.  
>"Oh, black tie. Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens," he said.<br>"It's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way," Martha said.  
>"James Bond? Really?" he asked. They walked into Lazarus Laboratories.<p>

I was't too worried, because I had no reason to believe that the Doctor was causing, or looking for trouble by attending this party-thing at Lazarus Laboratories. So, I took my time, not dawdling, but not running either.

Martha and the Doctor were in the recpetion room. In the middle of the room was a circular dais. On it was a man-sized frosted glass chamber and four upright posts, slightly curved at the top to aim at the chamber. A waiter walked past Martha and the Doctor with a tray of food.  
>"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles," he said, taking a few.<br>"Hello," Tish said, walking up to them.  
>"Tish," Martha said.<br>"You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?" Tish asked.  
>"Very," Martha said.<br>"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life," Tish said a bit teasingly.  
>"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns," Martha laughed.<br>"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her," Tish said.  
>"Leo in black tie? That I must see. This is, er, the Doctor," she said, pointing to him.<br>"Hello," the Doctor said.  
>"Is he with you?" Tish askeed.<br>"Yeah," Martha said.  
>"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?" Tish asked.<br>"He's my plus one," Martha said.  
>"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff," Tish said.  
>"She's in the PR department," Martha put in.<br>"I'm head of the PR department, actually," Tish said proudly.  
>"You're joking," Martha said.<br>"I put this whole thing together," Tish said.  
>"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator," the Doctor said, pointing the thing on the dais.<br>"He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later," Tish said, walking away.  
>"Science geek? What does that mean?" the Doctor asked.<br>"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it," Martha said.

"Oh, nice," the Doctor said. He tapped his link with Shadow.  
>{Shadow, when you get here, I want you to run some scans for me on a device,} he sent, looking over at the thing on the dais.<br>{Got it,} Shadow said, and he noted interestedly that she seemed to be taking her time. As far as he was concerned, that was a good thing. She was becoming increasingly emotional, also a good sign. There might be hope of recovering Tei for good after all.  
>He looked over as he heard a familiar voice.<br>"Your father's caused me enough heartache already with his menopause and his trophy girlfriend," Martha's mother had come in with Leo, and was talking.  
>"Yeah, Mum, I know. It's just something he said last night," Leo said.<br>"Martha," Francine said.  
>"Mum!" Martha said. She gave her mother a big hug.<br>"All right, what's the occasion?" Francine asked.  
>"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all," Martha said.<br>"You saw me last night," Francine said.  
>"I know. I just miss you. You're looking good, Leo," she complimented.<br>"Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for him," Leo said.  
>"You disappeared last night," Francine said.<br>"I just went home," Martha said.  
>"On your own?" Francine asked, looking at the Doctor.<p>

"This is a friend of mine," Martha said. "The Doctor."  
>"Doctor who?" Franicine asked.<br>"No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together," Martha said.  
>"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you," the Doctor said.<br>"Have you? What have you heard, then?" Francine said. The Doctor didn't notice Shadow walking over to him: probably because she had her Shadow Device activated.

"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and. Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy," the Doctor said. I looked from him to the woman in front of him. She did not look happy. Angry human women were number two on my list. I wondered how to spell women?  
>"Busy? Doing what, exactly?" the woman asked.<br>{Doctor, who is this?" I asked.  
>{Francine Jones. Martha's mother,} the Doctor explained.<br>{Is she angry that Martha was away for so long?} I asked.  
>{No, she's only been gone 12 hours,} he sent.<br>{Good thinking,} I sent. {So why is she angry?} I asked.  
>{Not angry, she's just a bit- well, she's a mother,} he sent.<br>"Oh you know. Stuff," the Doctor said aloud. I heard a loud clinking sound, and turned to the source of it. An old man was standing near a dais, tapping in a glass. The Doctor eagerly took the excuse to turn away from Francine.  
>"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever," he said. Lazarus went inside a cylindrical chamber on top of the dais.<br>{Oh yes, that's the thing I wanted you to scan,} the Doctor sent.  
>{I already scanned it,} I sent.<br>{Really? What is it?} the Doctor asked.  
>{Basically, a sonic microfield amplifier,} I sent. {Couldn't you have guessed that?} I asked.<br>{I did, but I wanted confirmation,} he sent.  
>A pair of lady scientists started up the machine and pressed a big red button. The four columns started to oscillate and rotate around the chamber as they poured energy into it. I watched, mesmerized, until an alarm sounded.<br>"Something's wrong. It's overloading," the Doctor said aloud.  
>Apparently, the computer agreed with him. There were sparks shooting from the controls, and smoke. The Doctor rushed over and got out his sonic screwdriver. I went over and joined him, looking at the wires.<br>"Somebody stop him. Get him away from those controls!" a woman yelled.  
>"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?" the Doctor asked. I unplugged a big power cable and the contraption slowed down, then stopped. The Doctor looked at me oddly. I shrugged.<br>{If you want to turn something off quickly, and you can't find the right button, unplug it,} I sent. He was too busy to reply.  
>Martha rushed to the chamber.<br>"Get it open!" the Doctor yelled. Martha opened the door, and a young man staggered out. My jaw dropped in disbelief.  
>{Doctor, that-}<br>{Not now Shadow,} he sent distractedly.  
>"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!" the young man said, confirming what scans had already told me. There was wild applause.<p>

It was a little bit later, and Lazarus was posing for the photographers.  
>"It can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick," Martha said.<br>"Oh, it's not a trick. I wish it were, but Shadow's scans confirmed that this is indeed professor Richard Lazarus," the Doctor said.  
>"What just happened then?" Martha asked.<br>"He just changed what it means to be human," the Doctor said.  
>"Excuse me. That was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen. Look at you," the woman who had tried to stop the Doctor said to Lazarus.<br>"This is only the beginning. We're not just making history, we're shaping the future, too," Lazarus said.  
>"Think of the money we'll make. People will sell their souls to be transformed like that. And I'll be first in line," the woman(Who I had identified as Lady Thaw) said. Lazarus stiffened and gasped suddenly, then grabbed a tray from a passing waiter and proceeded to eat all the food on it.<br>"Richard," Lady Thaw said, sounding appalled.  
>"I'm famished," Lazarus said.<br>The Doctor walked up to him, and Martha and I followed.

"Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process," the Doctor said.  
>"You speak as if you see this every day, Mister...?" Lazarus asked.<br>"Doctor. And well, no, not every day, but I have some experience of this kind of transformation," the Doctor said.  
>"That's not possible," Lazarus said.<br>"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired," the Doctor said.  
>"You understand the theory, then," Lazarus said.<br>"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables," the Doctor said.  
>"No experiment is entirely without risk," Lazarus said.<br>"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender," the Doctor said.  
>"You're not qualified to comment," Lady Thaw said.<br>"If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded," the Doctor said.  
>"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less," Lazarus said.<br>"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests," Martha said.  
>"Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need," Lazarus said.<br>"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially," Lady Thaw said.  
>"Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos," Martha said. I scanned Lazarus again. Something was not right. My scanners weren't fine-tuned enough to pick it up though.<br>{Doctor, there is something very wrong with Mr. Lazarus,} I sent.  
>{What is it?} the Doctor asked.<br>{I can't tell, my scanners can't detect exactly what it is, which means it's probably something on a molecular level,} I sent.  
>"Not chaos, change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve," Lazarus said.<br>"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer," the Doctor said.  
>"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely," Lazarus said.<br>"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs," Lady Thaw said.  
>"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were," Lazarus said. He kisseed Martha's hand, and left with Lady Thaw.<br>"Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done," the Doctor said.  
>"So what do we do now?" Martha asked.<br>"Now? Well, Shadow's scans detected something wrong, but she can't determine what it is exactly because it's on a molecular level. This building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests," the Doctor said.  
>"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?" Martha said, holding out her hand.<br>"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star," the Doctor said.

We were in a laboratory, and there was an image of a strand of Lazarus' DNA on the computer screen. My Shadow Device was deactivated.  
>"Amazing," the Doctor said.<br>"That is simply wrong," I said aloud, deeply disturbed by what I was seeing.  
>"What?" Martha asked.<br>"Lazarus's DNA," the Doctor said, still staring at the screen.  
>"I can't see anything different," Martha said.<br>"Look at it," I said.  
>"Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have," Martha said.<br>"But it did," the Doctor said.  
>"It's impossible," Martha said.<br>"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?" the Doctor asked.  
>"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns," Martha said.<br>"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilize the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate," the Doctor said.  
>"And they're still mutating now," I added.<br>"Because he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him," the Doctor said.  
>"Change him into what?" Martha asked.<br>"Trouble," I said.  
>The Doctor ignored my comment. "I don't know, but I think we need to find out," the Doctor said.<br>"That woman said they were going upstairs," Martha said.  
>"Let's go," the Doctor said, heading for the door. Martha and I walked out after him, my Shadow Device still deactivated.<br>{Doctor, we are leaving now,} I sent in a casual tone.  
>{No Shadow, sorry, but we're going to stick around a while longer,} he sent.<br>{Doctor, Professor Lazarus is mutating into a something, and it cannot be good,} I sent.  
>{Exactly, so I've got to stick around to make sure no one gets hurt,} he sent, turning a corner.<br>I decided to switch strategies.  
>{It's probably nothing. And we're wasting our time here. If we stay much longer in this unimportant time and place, we will miss other important events,} I sent.<br>{Nice try Shadow, but we're still staying,} he sent, getting into a lift. Martha and I walked in with him, Martha looking at us a bit oddly.  
>{I will not let you stay. You can come with me back to the Tardis willingly, or I will teleport with you, lock the door, and get us so far away from here-}<br>{I'll just come right come right back,} he sent.  
>{I won't let you,} I sent.<br>"Guys, I know you're talking through that link, what's going on?" Martha asked.  
>"Shadow is of the opinion that we should leave," the Doctor said.<br>"It is not an opinion Doctor, it is a fact. Lazarus is trouble, and we need to get away from him," I said.  
>The elevator stopped, and we stepped out.<br>"Look, how about this," Martha said. "If it looks like the our lives are in imminent danger, you can teleport us away. Sound good?" she asked. I thought about it.  
>"Alright," I agreed. Martha opened a door.<br>"This is his office, all right," she said.  
>"So where is he?" the Doctor asked,<br>"Don't know. Let's try back at the reception," Martha said.  
>I spotted a skeletal leg with a ladies shoe on it sticking out behind the desk.<br>"What is that?" Martha asked, seeing it as well. I scanned.  
>"It's Lady Thaw?" I asked, puzzled.<br>"Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange," the Doctor said.  
>"Lazarus?" Martha asked.<br>"Could be," the Doctor said.

"So he's changed already?" Martha asked.  
>"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough," the Doctor said.<br>"So he might do this again?" Martha asked.  
>"Mmm," the Doctor replied.<br>"I consider you to be in danger," I said, making a grab for his hand. He dodged away.  
>"No, Martha said imminent danger," he pointed out quickly. I sighed, and shrugged.<br>"Alright, you are not in imminent danger," I admitted.  
>Martha moved to walk out, but I stopped her.<br>"Lazarus is on the roof with another life form," I said.  
>"How do you-"<br>"I scanned the building searching for him. His DNA is fluctuating, and it is giving off a unique energy signature, that is very easy to detect," I said.  
>"Great, so who's the other life form?" Martha asked.<br>"I recognize this one from the party, and it is quite similar to you," I said.  
>"So, who is it?" Martha asked.<br>"Leticia Jones," I said. Martha froze for a minute, and then turned and started running. The Doctor followed.  
>We ran up the stairs, not bothering to take the lift. We were already close to the roof. We reached the door, and opened it, bursting out into cold night air. Lazarus and Tish were standing close to the edge of the roof.<br>"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect," Lazarus was saying. "There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-"  
>"Falls the Shadow," the Doctor finished.<br>Lazarus turned. "So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed," he said.  
>"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked.<br>"Tish, get away from him," Martha said.  
>"What? Don't tell me what to do," Tish said.<br>"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all," the Doctor said.  
>"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four," Lazarus said.<br>"Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person," the Doctor said.  
>"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be," Lazarus said. I turned on my Shadow Device.<br>"Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself," the Doctor said.  
>"Who are you to judge me?" Lazarus asked.<br>"Over here, Tish," Martha said.  
>"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault," Tish said. Behind her back, Lazarus spasmed and fell.<br>"Tish, he's a monster!" Martha yelled.  
>"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones," Tish said.<br>{Who?} I asked.  
>Tish turned and saw the transformation in progress. Lazarus was now a massive bony scorpion with a human face.<br>"What's that?" Tish asked.  
>"Run!" the Doctor yelled.<br>I grabbed his hand.  
>{<em>Now<em> you are in imminent danger,} I sent. Marth saw what I was doing, and grabbed a handful of my shirt, clutching Tish's arm with her other hand.  
>I teleported, but I didn't end up where I wanted to. We were back in the stairwell.<br>{Doctor, what did you do?} I asked.  
>{I used our link to redirect the teleport,} he sent.<br>"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.  
>"I was going to snog him," Tish said.<br>The lights flickered as the creature tried to break in.  
>"Security one. Security one. Security one," a voice on a loudspeaker said.<br>The lights went out.

"What's happening?" Martha asked.  
>"An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits," Tish explained.<br>"He must be breaking through that door. The stairs, come on!" the Doctor yelled. He ran off down the stairs, and since it was apparent that I could not teleport him out, I would try to buy him some time. I did not follow him down the stairs. Instead, I turned off my Shadow Device, and stood a little bit away from the door.  
>{Shadow, where are you?} the Doctor asked. The door broke open, and I turned and ran, the thing chasing me.<br>{Come up with a plan to get this thing, because I'm dead otherwise,} I sent. The thing was almost on me, so I cheated a bit. I teleported a ways ahead. The thing stopped, looking at me in confusion. I didn't waste time. I kept running. I stopped, noticing that it was not chasing me. I looked back, to see it barreling clumsily down the stairs. I chased after it, regretting this reversal of roles.

Back In The Reception Room...

"Tish, is there another way out of here?" the Doctor asked Tish.  
>"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now," Tish replied.<br>"Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry," the Doctor said, throwing her the sonic screwdriver.  
>"Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!" the Doctor said, addressing the crowd.<p>

"Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive," the woman said.  
>{Doctor, he's coming your way, fast,} Shadow sent.<br>Just then the mutant Lazarus appeared from around a corner, causing panic when people saw him. It's tail sent a table flying. The mutant stood over a woman frozen in fear, and opened its jaws sideways. Then it broughts its tail over, and the other mouth appears.  
>"No! Get away from her!" the Doctor yelled. He was too late. A desiccated corpse fell to the floor. The mutant turned to look at the rest of the crowd, who were running for the door Martha had opened.<br>"Lazarus! Leave them alone," the Doctor yelled. It turns towards the Doctor

.  
>{Doctor, get out of there,} I said.<br>{Let me try, just let me try,} he said.  
>I teleported to just behind him. {I will teleport with you,} I threatened.<br>{I'll make sure we stay in the building,} he sent.  
>"What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!" the Doctor yelled. I grabbed for his hand, but he ran off down a corridor, and the mutant chased after him. I ran after them both. I turned a corner, and they were gone.<br>{Doctor, where are you?} I demaded.  
>{Not now Shadow,} he sent.<br>{Tell me where you are,} I insisted. He sent me an image of the place, just as  
>I turned a corner, into the same place. I heard a clatter, and saw the Doctor, clambering amongst the pipes and control panels.<br>{Shadow, do not try to teleprt in here,} he sent.  
>{Why?} I asked.<br>{Just don't,} he sent back.  
>{I am taking you back to the Tardis, now,} I sent.<br>{Alright, but do you see that closet right there?} he asked.  
>{Yep,} I sent.<br>{There should be a panel in there, with a big switch on it. Could you go and switch it to 'on'?} he asked.  
>{Alright,} I sent. I walked into the closet and closed the door behind me. {I don't see and pan-} I cut off as it hit me what he was doing. He sent a thought at me, a suggestion. I swayed, trying to hang onto conciousness.<br>{Go to sleep,} he sent.  
>{Na...} I sent back.<br>{Tei, go to sleep,} he sent again, more strongly this time.  
>{Who?} I asked, before I blacked out.<p> 


	22. 42

There was a jolt, and I was tossed into the air. I opened my eyes, and wondered where I was, before I remembered what had happened. I growled, wondering if the Doctor was dead. Probably not, I was still here, but you never know. I got up, and made my way to the control room.  
>"Come on Martha! Let's take a look!" the Doctor said, opening the door.<br>"Hey wait!" I yelled, running after them.  
>We had landed in what looked like an engine room, which was glowing red from extreme heat.<br>"Whoa! Now that is hot!" the Doctor said, not having noticed me yet.  
>"Whoa! It's like a sauna in here!" Martha said. She took her jacket off.<br>The Doctor looked at pieces of equipment. "Venting systems. Working at full pelt. Trying to cool down… uh, where-ever it is we are. Well! If you can't stand the heat…" he walked towards a heavy-duty door, opened it, and walking out of the room. Martha and I followed.  
>"Well, that's better," the Doctor said.<br>Three people, two men and a woman, came running towards us from the opposite direction. They all looked very hot. I activated the Shadow Device.  
>"Oi! You there!" one of the men said.<br>"Seal that door! Now!" the woman ordered.  
>The Doctor looked stunned and confused. The two men quickly sealed the door.<br>"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" the woman asked.  
>"Are you police?" the first man asked.<br>"Why would we be police?" the Doctor asked.  
>"We got your distress signal," Martha said.<br>{You got a distress signal and your first thought was to barge in like this?} I sent.  
>{Oh, good, you're up,} he sent back cheerily.<br>{You put me to sleep,} I accused.  
>{Uh, yeah, that I did,} he sent.<br>"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" the Doctor asked out loud.  
>"It went dead four minutes ago," the woman said.<br>"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to engineering. Captain," the second man said.  
>"Secure closure active," the computer said.<br>A a loud clang sounded, and the woman looked around the corner. "What?" she asked.  
>"The ship's gone mad," the second man said.<br>I saw another person, a woman, running down the corridor, this time with doors slamming shut just behind her. She reached us.  
>"Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in to area 27," the second woman said. The closest door slammed shut locking us into area 29. "Who are you?" the new woman asked, sounding confused.<br>The Doctor went to answer, but Martha cut him off. She sounded distracted.  
>"He's the Doctor, and I'm Martha. Hello," she said.<br>She began to walk forward. It looked like she had been possessed.  
>"Impact projection: 42 minutes," the computer said.<br>I froze, listening intently. There was something... wrong. Very, very wrong.  
>{Doctor,} I sent.<br>{Not now Shadow,} he sent. He was talking to the people, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.  
>{Doctor, I... it...}<br>I looked around down the corridor, and walked off down it, a song echoing in my head. I walked forward, not noticing where I was going, silent tears streaming down my face.

"Doctor! Look," Martha said, almost screaming. The Doctor looked over at Martha, who had her face pressed against a window. The Doctor ran over and looked out of the window with her. The ship was hurtling towards a star.  
>"Forty – two minutes until we crash into the sun," the first woman said, answering his earlier question.<br>The Doctor ran away from the window, over to the woman, and grabbed her arm.  
>"How many crew members on board?" the Doctor asked, sounding like he was panicking.<br>"Seven, including us," the woman replied.  
>"We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship," the second man said.<br>The ran back towards the door where he came from. "Call the others, I'll get you out!" he yelled over his shoulder.  
>He went to open the door, and the crew members all rushed to stop him.<br>"What's he doing?" the first man asked.  
>"No! Don't!" the first woman yelled, too late. The Doctor opened the door. It had become so hot in area 30, the pure force knocked the Doctor backwards and off his feet. He yelled as he fell. Martha automatically rushed to his aid, but he was fine. One of the crew members shut the door, dressed in breathing apparatus, whilst the others crowd round the Doctor.<br>"But my ship's in there!" the Doctor said.  
>"In the vent chamber?" the first man asked.<br>The Crew member who shut the door took their breathing apparatus off. It was the second female crew member. She stood beside the door, and read off of the gauges there.  
>"It's our lifeboat!" the Doctor said.<br>"It's lava," the second man said.  
>"The temperature's going mad in there! Up 3000 degrees in ten seconds, and still rising," the second woman said.<br>"Channelling the air. The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's gonna get," the first man said.  
>"We're stuck here," Martha said.<br>"So? We fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the Sun! Simple! Engineering down here, is it?" the Doctor said. He ran off down a corridor.  
>"Impact in 40.26," the computer said.<br>The Doctor, followed by McDonnell and the rest of the crew ran down a set of stairs. The Doctor stopped suddenly, bemused.  
>"Blimey! Do you always leave things in such a mess?" he asked, looking at a completely wrecked engine. Wires, springs and casings were littered all over the place, steaming.<br>"Oh my god!" the first woman said.  
>"What the hell happened?" the second man asked.<br>They all walked around the piece of machinery, surveying the damage  
>"Oh, it's wrecked," the first man said.<br>"Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing," the Doctor said.  
>The Doctor wandered over to a computer terminal, attached to the wreckage.<br>"Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?" the first woman asked.  
>"No," the second man replied.<br>"You mean someone did this on purpose?" Martha asked.  
>The first woman ran over to an intercom system.<br>"Korwin? Ashton? Where are you?" she asked. There was no response. "Korwin, can you answer?" she tried again. There was still no answer. She left the intercom. "Where the hell is he? He should be up here!" she said.  
>The Doctor had his glasses on. "Oh! We're in the Torajji system! Lovely!" he said happily. The screen readout showed a system of planets, circling a huge sun. "You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away," he said.<br>He left the terminal.  
>"Yeah. Feels it," Martha said sarcastically. She looked around. "Hey, where's Shadow?" she asked.<br>"And, you're still using energy scoops for fusion? Hasn't that been outlawed yet?" the Doctor asked the first woman, ignoring Martha.  
>The crew looked at each other guiltily.<br>"We're due to upgrade next docking," the first woman said dismissively. She walked away from the Doctor. "Scannell, engine report," she ordered.  
>Scannell walked over to the computer terminal the Doctor was at before. He scanned, with everyone looking anxiously over his shoulder. The machine beeped several times.<br>"No response" Scannell said. He ran over to the wrecked engine.  
>"What?" the first woman asked.<br>Scannell was examining pieces of wire protruding from the wreck. "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online," Scannell said.  
>The Doctor took his glasses off. "Oh come on! Auxiliary engines! Every craft's got auxiliaries!" he said.<br>"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship," the first woman said.  
>"Yeah, with 29 password sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time," Scannell said.<br>"Can't you override the doors?" Martha asked.  
>"No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed," Scannell said.<br>"So a sonic screwdriver's no use," the Doctor said.  
>"Nothing's any use. We've got no engines, no time, and no chance," Scannell said.<br>"Oh listen to you! Defeated before you've even started! Where's your Dunkirk spirit?" he asked.  
>Martha tapped him on his shoulder.<br>He turned to McDonnell. "Who's got the door passwords?" he asked.  
>"They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of 'em. Sorry, Riley Vashti," the first man interrupted.<br>"Then what're you waiting for Riley Vashti, get on it," the Doctor said, taking command.  
>"Well, it's a two-person job," he said. He went and fetched what looked to be a huge magnetic clamp, and a huge backpack. "One, it takes to answer the questions, and the other to carry this," he said, putting the kit on his back. "The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh captain?" he asked the first woman.<br>"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh Riley?" she responded.  
>"Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice!" Riley said.<br>Martha walked over and took the equipment from Riley's hands. "I'll help you. Make myself useful," she said.  
>"It's remotely controlled by computer panel. That's why it needs two," Riley explained.<br>Riley turned, and headed away from the group. Martha made to follow him  
>"Oi," the Doctor said. Martha turned to face him. "Be careful," he said seriously.<br>"You too," she said.  
>She turned, and followed Riley away. Suddenly, a male voice came over the intercom<br>"McDonnell? It's Ashton," he said.  
>The first woman, McDonnell, ran back over to the intercom panel.<br>"Where are you? Is Korwin with you?" she asked.  
>"Get up to the med-centre NOW!" Ashton said seriously.<br>McDonnell left the intercom and ran. The Doctor followed her. Outside the engine room, Martha and Riley were just setting up for their attempt at opening the doors, as McDonnell and the Doctor ran past.  
>"Impact in 34.31," the computer said.<p>

I stared out the window at the star. It was singing. And I couldn't stop crying. I was a class six telepath, so I heard it.  
>I pressed my face against the glass of the window, wishing it would stop. There was so much pain there. An indescribable sense of loss, and loneliness. But there was anger as well. An unbridled, raging anger. This star had thoughts, and feelings. And someone had done it wrong.<br>{What happened?} I sent, though I knew it could not understand me. {Why? Who did this? What did they do?}  
>I got no answer.<p>

In the med-centre, a man, Korwin, was thrashing about in agony on a bed, by what looked like an MRI scanner, his eyes shut tightly. A man, Ashton, and a woman, were trying to restrain him.  
>"Argh! Stop it!" Korwin yelled.<br>"Korwin! It's Abi! Open your eyes, I need to take a look at you!" the woman said.  
>McDonnell and the Doctor ran in.<br>"Korwin! What's happened? Is he OK?" McDonnell asked.  
>The Doctor ran to the foot of the bed.<br>Korwin was still thrashing about. "Oh God! Help me! It's burning me!" he screamed.  
>"How long's he been like this?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Ashton just brought him in," Abi said.  
>The Doctor got his Sonic Screwdriver out, and began to scan Korwin. McDonnell panicked.<br>"What are you doing?" she demanded.  
>Korwin gave another shriek of pain.<br>"Sonic impulse," the Doctor said.  
>McDonnell pushed past Ashton to the head of the bed. "Don't be so stupid, that's my husband!" McDonnell said.<br>"And he's just sabotaged our ship!" Ashton said.  
>McDonnell turned to face Ashton. "What?" she asked.<br>"He went mad. He set the ship to secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls," Ashton said.  
>"No way! He wouldn't do that!" McDonnell cried.<br>"I saw it happen, Captain," Ashton said.  
>The Doctor finished scanning Korwin, and tried to talk to him.<br>"Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second," the Doctor said.  
>"I can't!" Korwin yelled.<br>"Yeah, course you can. Go on," the Doctor said.  
>"Don't make me look at you! Please!" Korwin yelled.<br>The Doctor moved down the bed again, and picks up a dart gun off a tray.  
>"Alright, alright, alright. Just relax," he said. He held the gun up to Abi. "Sedative?" he asked.<br>"Yes," Abi said.  
>The Doctor pressed the gun up against Korwin's neck, and administered the sedative. Korwin gave one final shout, then fell silent and still. The Doctor replaced the gun on the tray. He perched on the bed and crossed his arms.<br>"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings…" he pointed to the MRI scanner thing. "Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber. Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature," he said. Abi looked at him questioningly, but rushed to do what he said. Ashton also looked at him, out of breath from the struggle of restraining Korwin. "And, just for fun, run a bio-scan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail," the Doctor added.  
>Abi looked around from what she was doing. "Just doing them now," she said.<br>"Oh, you're good. Anyone else presenting these symptoms?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Not so far," Abi said.<br>"Well, that's something," the Doctor said.  
>McDonnell continued to stand by Korwin's bed, looking down on him.<br>"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" she asked.  
>"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results. Now, Allons-y, back downstairs. Ay! See about those engines. Go," the Doctor said. Ashton made to leave. McDonnell remained static. "Ay! Go," the Doctor ordered. She too left, reluctantly.<br>"Call us if there's news!" he said to Abi. "Any questions?"  
>"Yeah. Who are you?" Abi asked.<br>the Doctor stuck his head back through the plastic curtains at the door. "I'm the Doctor!" he said.  
>The Doctor ran out, following McDonnell and Ashton.<p>

"Heat shields failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact in 32.50," the computer said.  
>Martha and Riley were at the first locked door. Riley was typing something on a keypad. He turned to Martha, who was standing by the locked door, looking bored.<br>"Hurry up, will you?" Martha said, sounding bored.  
>"Alright," Riley said. He finished typing. "Fix the clamp on!" he instructed.<br>Martha lifted the clamp, and attached it firmly to the door, and held it there. She turned to see Riley typing more  
>"What are you typing?" Martha asked.<br>"Each door's trip code is the answer to a random question set by the crew. Nine tours back, we got drunk, thought 'em up. Reckoning was if we're hijacked, we're the only ones who know all the answers," Riley told her.  
>"So you type in the right answer…"<br>Riley tapped the backpack that he had brought along. "This, sends an unlock pulse to the clamp. But we only get one chance per door. Get it wrong, the whole system freezes," he said.  
>"Better not get it wrong then," Martha said.<br>"OK," Riley said, sounding slightly excited. He shifted over to a readout screen, where the first question appeared.  
>"Date of SS Pentallian's first flight? That's alright!" he said. He typed in the answer to the question. "Go!" he yelled to Martha.<br>Martha pressed the 'trigger' on the clamp. It beeped a few times, the lights on the top of the clamp turned green, and the door opened.  
>"Yes!" she yelled.<br>"Only twenty-eight more to go!" Riley said. They both run through the door, and on to the next one.

The star whispered to me. Told me what it would do, told me without using words. And why. I fell screaming, hands over my ears, trying to make it stop. I couldn't understand what it was saying, but I knew what it meant.  
>{Burn with me,} it whispered.<p>

The Doctor was talking into the intercom to Abi.  
>"Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?" the Doctor asked,<br>"He's under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know," Abi replied.

Martha and Riley were running down a corridor, when they came to another sealed door. Their intercom buzzed.  
>"Martha? Riley? How're you doing?" the Doctor asked.<br>"Area twenty-nine, at the door to twenty-eight!" Martha replied.  
>The Doctor put his glasses on, and stared at the readout above the comm station. "You've gotta move faster!" he said.<br>"We're doing our best!" Martha snapped.  
>The next question appeared on Riley's readout. Once again, he read the question aloud.<br>"Find the next number in the sequence: 313, 331, 367… what?" Riley asked.  
>"You said the crew knew all the answers," Martha said, sounding scared.<br>"The crew's changed since we set the questions," Riley said.  
>"You're joking," Martha said.<br>"379!" the Doctor said over the intercom.  
>"What?" Martha asked.<br>"It's a sequence of happy primes. 379," the Doctor said.

"Happy what?" Martha asked.  
>"Just enter it!" the Doctor said.<br>"Are you sure? We only get one chance!" Riley said.  
>"Any number which reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number which is both happy and prime, now type it in!" the Doctor said. "I dunno, talk about dumbing down! Don't they teach recreational mathematics any more?" the Doctor asked.<br>Riley typed in the answer the Doctor gave him. There was a slight build up, the lights on the clamp turned green, and the door opened.  
>"We're through!" Martha said.<br>"Keep moving. Fast as you can. And, Martha, be careful. There may be something else on board this ship," the Doctor said over the intercom.  
>"Any time you wanna unnerve me, feel free!" Martha said as she ran.<br>"Will do, thanks," the Doctor said. He switched the comm. off.

I got up and ran.  
>{Doctor!} I screamed through our link. But he couldn't hear me.<br>{Burn with me,} the star whispered.

"We need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time. Come on! Think! Resources, what have we got?" he asked.  
>"Doctor?" Martha's voice came over the intercom.<br>"What is it now?" the Doctor asked.  
>"Who had the most number ones, Elvis, or the Beatles. That's pre-download," Martha asked.<br>"Elvis. No! The Beatles! No! Wait! Um… um…" He looked like he was in physical pain, and began to slap the back of his head. "Argh! What was that remix? Um… I don't know! I am a bit busy!" he yelled.  
>"Fine. I'll ask someone else!" Martha said.<br>"Now, where was I? Here comes the sun. No, resources. So, the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that.. ah!" he said.  
>"Use the generator to jump-start the ship," McDonnell said.<br>"Exactly! At the very least, it'll buy us some more time," the Doctor said.  
>"That… is brilliant," McDonnell said.<p>

"I know! See! Tiny glimmer of hope!" the Doctor said.  
>Most of the crew were now smiling, knowing that there may be a way out.<br>"If it works," Scannell said.  
>"Oh, believe me. You're gonna make it work," McDonnell said.<br>Scannell walked off, looking dejected. Ashton and the Doctor looked at McDonnell with respect, still smiling.  
>"That told him!" the Doctor said.<p>

"Doctor!" I screamed. I couldn't see. I ran through the ship blindly, trying to break through to the Doctor, to warn him. And still, the star whispered in my ear.  
>{Burn with me,} more loudly than before.<p>

The Doctor heard someone screaming his name. He looked up from the terminal, to see Shadow stumble blindly into the room.  
>"Doctor!" she screamed.<br>"Shadow?" he asked. He ran over to her, cursing hismself for forgetting her. She grabbed onto him, clutching his arm.  
>"Doctor! Can you hear it?" she yelled. She was crying blood.<br>"Hear what Shadow? Hear what?" he asked.  
>She fell to the floor, spasming, and shrieking in agony. He held her down as she continued to struggle, screaming in Galva Neertan. Then she just stopped. She gripped his arm, with crushing force, and leaned up, looking right into his eyes, her gaze intense.<br>"Burn with me," she whispered hoarsely. She shuddered, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell back to the deck.  
>"Shadow? Shadow, what does that mean? Shadow, wake up," he yelled, shaking her. He tried to reach her through their link, and pulled away, gaspng. There was something there, something ancient, and powerful, and angry and so very <em>sad.<em>  
>"What's going on?" McDonnell asked, emerging from around the corner. She looked at Shadow. "Who's that?" she asked.<br>"She came with us," the Doctor said. He stood, shaking his head. "I forgot about her."  
>The intercom buzzed. "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me," Abi said.<br>He walked over to the comm. "What d'you mean?" he asked.  
>"Well, Korwin's body's changing! His whole biological make-up, it… it's impossible," Abi said. The entire crew was gathered around, listening intently. There was a bang and the Abi spoke again.<br>"This is med-centre," she said, her voice starting to rise. "Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!" she yelled.  
>The Doctor ran, heading to med bay.<p>

"Stay here! Keep working, and watch after Shadow!" he yelled over his shoulder.  
>"Burn with me," came a voice over the intercom. The Doctor froze.<br>"Burn with me," it said again.  
>"Burn with me," the Doctor murmured. That was what Shadow said. He started running again.<br>"Captain?" Scannell yelled, running after them.  
>"I told you to stay in engineering!" the Doctor said.<br>"I only take orders form one person round here," Scannell.  
>The Doctor looked shocked.<br>"Oh, is he always this cheery?" he asked, turning and running again.  
>"Burn. With. Me," they heard the voice again, and then a scream.<br>"Doctor, what were those screams?" Martha asked over the comm.

"Concentrate on those doors! You've gotta keep moving forward!" the Doctor yelled.  
>"Impact in 27.06," the computer said.<br>The Doctor and McDonnell burst through the plastic sheeting that acted as a door to the med-centre. Scannell was already there, looking around. They all noticed the bed where Korwin had been was empty.  
>"Korwin's gone," McDonnell said.<br>Scannell turned around, and stopped in his tracks.  
>"Oh my God," he said.<br>Both the Doctor and McDonnell turned to look in the same direction, saw a charred, black shape on a wall, in the shape of a person with one hand in the air. The Doctor realized that this charred shape was once Abi. He walked towards it.  
>"Tell me that's not Lerner," Scannell said.<br>The Doctor ran his fingers around the outline of the shape. "Endothermic vaporization. I've never seen one this ferocious," he said. He looked distant. "Burn with me," he muttered.  
>"That's what we heard Korwin say," Scannell said.<br>"What? D'you think… no way! Scannell, tell him! Korwin is not a killer! He can't vaporise people! He's human!" McDonnell said.

The Doctor noticed something on the floor. He walked over, and picks up the x-rays and bioscan results that Abi was looking at before.  
>"His bioscan results… internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen! Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed!" the Doctor said.<br>Scannell snatched the bioscan results out of the Doctor's hand. "The test results are wrong!" he said.  
>"But what is it though? Parasite? Mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body. But how did it get inside him?" the Doctor said, ignoring Scanell.<br>"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!" McDonnell yelled a bit hysterically.  
>"Where's the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?" the Doctor asked.<br>"What is this? An interrogation?" McDonnell asked.  
>"We've got to stop him before he kills again," the Doctor said.<br>"We're just… a cargo ship," McDonnell said.  
>She turned away from the Doctor, looking distraught. Scannell tried to comfort her.<br>"Doctor, if you give her a minute," he said.  
>The Doctor looked on, as Scannell faced McDonnell.<br>McDonnell recovered quickly. "I'm fine. I need to warn the crew," she said. As the Doctor continued to puzzle over the bioscan results, McDonnell walked over to the intercom. "Everybody listen to me! Something has infected Korwin. We think…" she paused, and the Doctor looked at her. "He killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?" she said.  
>"Understood Captain," Ashton said.<br>"Impact in 24.51," the computer said.  
>The Doctor, Scannell and McDonnell were still in the med-centre, with the Doctor still poring over the bioscan results. McDonnell had sat down, and Scannell was stood close by.<br>"Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?" McDonnell asked.  
>"I dunno," the Doctor said seriously.<br>"Don't lie to me, Doctor. Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest. So I don't want false hope," McDonnell said.  
>"The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone. There's no way back. Sorry," the Doctor said.<br>McDonnell nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly.  
>The Doctor suddenly sprang into life again. He walked towards McDonnell.<br>"Are you… certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret, 'cause it's vital that you tell me," he asked.  
>"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing," McDonnell said.<br>The Doctor stared at her harshly.  
>"Then why is this thing so interested in you?" the Doctor asked.<br>McDonnell shook her head slightly. "I wish I knew," she said.

{Why will you not burn?} the star asked, without words. It communicated in feelings.  
>{I cannot,} I replied, speaking the star's language. Feelings, no words. No certainties.<br>{But why?} it asked, puzzled for the first time in millenia.  
>{Shadows do not burn,} I replied.<br>{But you are not a Shadow. You are flesh and blood. Why will you not burn?} it asked. I shrieked mentally as it clawed at me, trying to find why.  
>{I...I have a purpose,} I sent.<br>{All think they have a purpose. What makes yours special?} the star asked.  
>{My Doctor... Protect the last Time Lord,} I thought.<br>{Burn with me,} it sent, and I screamed.

"Doctor, we're through to area 17," Martha told the Doctor over the comm.  
>"Keep going. you've got to get to area one and reboot those engines," the Doctor said.<p>

"Heat shield failing. At twenty percent," the computer said.  
>Riley was having trouble getting the latest computer terminal to work.<br>Riley hit the terminal. "Come on!" he yelled. Everything on this ship is so cheap!" he told Martha, who had stopped to see what was wrong. They both heard a bang, and looked in the direction it came from. "Who's there?" Riley asked.  
>The banging continued, so they both put the down tools, and go to investigate. As they got closer to the door, through the smoke, they could make out a figure.<br>"Is that Korwin?" Martha asked quietly, scared.  
>"No, wait a minute… oh, Ashton, what're you doing?" Riley asked.<br>"Burn with me," he said.  
>"Well, if you wanna help…"<br>"Burn with me! Burn with me!" Ashton said.  
>Ashton's hand moved up, to remove the eye shield. Riley and Martha realized that Ashton had been possessed.<br>Martha slapped the button that opened a nearby door. "Move!" she yelled. As it began to slide open, Martha squeezed through the gap. "Come on!" she said.  
>She entered a small room, and cowered in the far corner. Riley followed her, punched the keypad to close the door. The door began to slide shut. Once the door was fully closed, Riley and Martha heaved sighs of relief. Then they saw Ashton's helmet through the porthole, and he began to pound on the door. Riley pressed another combination on the keypad that opened a hatch next to them. They climb inside, and shut the door.<br>"What is happening on this ship?" Riley asked.  
>"Never mind that. Where are we?" Martha asked,<br>Before Riley could answer, the computer's voice made an announcement  
>"Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod," the computer said.<br>"That doesn't mean us?" she asked. Riley lunged for the internal keypad, and she realized that it did mean them. "Doctor!" she screamed at the top of her lungs  
>"Pod jettison initiated," the computer said.<br>Riley was frantically typing on the keypad inside the pod. Outside the airlock, Ashton stood, watching. The small screen by the keypad showed the status of the pod – 'Jettison initiated.' Martha tried the small comm. unit, next to where Riley was working  
>"Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock," she said. "One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've gotta help us!" she said. "Tell me you can stop it," she said to Riley. He just kept typing.<br>"Jettison held," the computer said.  
>Both Riley and Martha heaved sighs of relief.<br>"Thank you…" Riley said to the roof.  
>"Jettison reactivated," the computer said. Martha noticed Ashton typing on a keypad outside.<br>Martha screamd and began to hit the door wildly. Behind her, Riley started tapping wildly on the keypad again.  
>"Come on…" Riley said. Ashton was entering something else into his keypad. It was becoming a race of who could type the fastest.<br>"Geovinsci sequence. This'll get him," Riley said.  
>As Ashton continued to try and jettison the pod, the screen readout changed.<br>"Jettison held. Escape pod stabilised," the computer said.  
>Both Riley and Martha sighed of relief again.<br>"You're pretty good," Martha said quietly.  
>She looked through the window, and saw Ashton is once again typing something into the keypad. Riley started tapping again. Martha saw the Doctor appear through the door from area 17. He said something that Martha couldn't hear, and Ashton turned. The Doctor said something else, and Ashton turned back, and put his fist through the keypad. A series of sirens sounded.<br>"Jettison activated," the computer said.  
>"He's smashed the circuit. I can't stop it," Riley said numbly. He started panicking. "I can't stop it!" he yelled<p>

The Doctor stared at Ashton, aware that the pod was about to jettison.  
>"Come on. Let's see you," he said. Ashton advanced on him, until they were almost nose to nose. "I wanna know what you really are," the Doctor said. Ashton lifted his hand to his visor. Then he doubled up and backed away from the Doctor. He recovered from whatever had happened quickly, and stood upright again, heading straight for the Doctor.<br>"Airlock sealed," the computer said.  
>Instead of resuming his attack on the Doctor, Ashton jostled past him, and headed out of area 17. The Doctor ran over to the nearest comm unit.<br>"McDonnell! Ashton's heading in your direction! He's been infected, just like Korwin!" the Doctor said.  
>"Korwin's dead, Doctor," came Scannell's voice over the comm.<br>"Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod," the computer said.  
>The Doctor looked up, and realized that Martha was still inside. He ran over to the airlock door, and saw Martha, just a few feet away, tapping on the glass, and calling his name, but he couldn't hear her.<br>"I'll save you!" he yelled.  
>Riley said something, and Martha comtinued to tap on the window.<br>"I'll save you!" the Doctor yelled, hoping she could hear him.  
>The pod disengaged, and he kept yelling. Th epod got smaller as it drifted away.<br>"Impact in 17.05," the computer announced.  
>The Doctor was still for a minute, and then ran back over to the intercom, having an idea. It was a good thing Shadow was unconcious. Actually, not, she could probably teleport and bring Martha and Riley back if she was awake.<br>"Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area 17, now!" the Doctor said.  
>"What for?" Scannell asked over the comm.<br>"Just get down here!" he yelled.  
>He stood upright, and stalked over to the airlock door.<p>

{You will burn them all?} I asked.  
>{They must all burn,} the star replied.<br>{You would burn my Doctor?} I asked.  
>{I will burn your Doctor, and you as well,} the star said.<br>{Then Protocol 23 must be initiated,} I decided.  
>{I will hold you. You will not stop them from burning,} the star said.<br>{I have activated Protocol 23. You cannot hold me,} I sent.  
>{I will hold you,} the star said with certainty. In response, I pushed. And the star pulled, trying to keep me in this space, this frame of mind in which there was nothing I could do. This was like a human game of tug of war, but for me, the stakes were too high. I could not lose. I broke free, and jolted back into conciousness with a shriek.<p>

Inside the escape pod, still falling towards the sun, Martha and Riley were incredibly calm. They were both looking out of the porthole, out at space.  
>"The wonderful world of space travel. The prettier it looks, the more likely it is to kill you," Riley said.<br>"He'll come for us," Martha said.  
>Riley shook his head.<br>"Nah, it's too late. Out heat shields will pack in any minute, then we go into free fall. We'll fall into the sun way before he has a chance to do anything," he said.  
>"You don't know the Doctor. I believe in him," Martha said.<br>"Then you're lucky. I've never found anyone worth believing in," Riley said.  
>Martha turned to face him. "No girlfriend? Boyfriend?" she asked.<br>"The job doesn't lend itself to stable relationships," Riley said.  
>"Family then?" Martha asked.<br>"My dad's dead. And I haven't seen my mum in… six years. She didn't want me to sign up for cargo tours. Things were said, and since then… all silent. She wanted to hold on to me, I know that. She's so stubborn!" Riley said.  
>"Yeah well, that's family," Martha said, a slight quiver in her voice.<br>"What about you?" Riley asked.  
>"Full works. Mum, dad. Dad's girlfriend. Brother, sister. No silence there. So much noise. Oh god!" she said, tears falling, as she realized. "They'll never know! I… I'll just have disappeared. And they'll always be waiting," she said.<br>"Call them," Riley said simply.  
>Martha looked at him, slightly stunned.<p>

In area 17, the Doctor was dressed in a spacesuit.  
>"I can't let you do this,"Scannell said.<br>"You're wasting your breath, Scannell You're not gonna stop me," the Doctor said.  
>"You wanna open an airlock in flight on a ship spinning into the sun. No-one can survive that!" Scannell said.<br>"Oh, just you watch," the Doctor said.  
>"You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you," Scannell argued.<br>"If I can breach the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetise the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines," the Doctor said.  
>"Doctor, will you listen! They're too far away, it's too late!" Scannell said.<br>"I'm not gonna lose her," the Doctor said.  
>The Doctor put his helmet on. He walked past Scannell to the airlock door, which slid open. He walked inside, an intense look on his face.<br>"Decompression, initiating," the computer said.

I stumbled through the halls, trying to ignore the star, which was still trying to pull me back under. I fought it stubbornly. I had to find the Doctor, and... and what? I had no plan beyond warning him. If he hadn't already figured it out. I turned a corner, and walked for a while. A flash of orange drew my gaze to an airlock. I ran over, and tapped on the door. The person in the airlock turned, and my jaw dropped as I realized it was the Doctor.

"Hello," Francine Jones said over the phone.  
>"Me again. Sorry about earlier," Martha said.<br>"Is everything alright?" Francine asked.  
>"Yeah. Course," Martha said.<br>"Martha?" Francine asked.  
>"Mum, I… you know I love you, don't you?" Martha said.<br>"Course I do. What's brought this on?" Francine asked.  
>"I never say it. Never get the time. I never think of it, and I…" her voice broke. "I really love you. Tell dad, Leo and Tish that I love them."<br>"Martha, what's wrong?" Francine asked.  
>"Nothing. Promise,"Martha said.<br>"Where are you?" Francine asked.  
>"Just out," Martha said.<br>"With anyone nice?" Francine asked.  
>"Some mates," Martha said.<br>"What mates?" Francine said.  
>"Mum, can we just talk?" Martha asked.<br>"Of course. What do you want to talk about?" Francine asked.  
>"I dunno, anything! What you had for breakfast. What you watched on telly last night. How much you're gonna kill Dad next time you see him. Anything," Martha said.<br>"Is the Doctor with you? Is he there, now?" Francine asked.  
>Martha had tears rolling down her cheeks now. "Mum, just leave it," she said.<br>"It's a simple enough question," Francine said.  
>"I'd better go," Martha said.<br>"Um, no Martha, wait!" Francine said hurriedly.  
>"See you, mum," Martha said, hanging up the phone. Martha turned to Riley, and he enveloped her in a hug, and kissed her forehead.<p>

I banged on door. "Doctor!" I yelled. I tried to teleport into the airlock, and backed up a step as a wave of dizziness hit me.  
>"Teleport attempt detected in area 17," the computer said, and I cursed. They must have installed a system to prevent teleportation on board the ship.<br>I noticed a comm station station, and ran over to it.  
>"Doctor, get back in here," I said.<br>"No, Martha's in an escape pod out there," he said.  
>"Impact in 11.15," the computer announced. The Doctor started walking towards the exterior airlock door.<br>"Heat shield failing. At ten percent," the computer said.  
>"Doctor, she's gone, now get back in here!" I yelled.<br>There was no response.  
>The Doctor pressed a button on a keypad, which opened the exterior door. He recoiled slightly from the heat and brightness of the sun, but recovered, grabbed hold of the frame, and, battling against the vacuum, began to clamber out onto the outer hull of the ship.<br>"Doctor, get back in here!" I yelled.  
>He was still ignoring me. He got himself into a good position, and swung his hand out to try and reach a column of buttons, just to the right of the airlock. He hissed first time, but continued to stretch out, trying to get there.<br>I left the intercom, and ran over to the airlock door to watch. I would do more good by hoping he got donw what he needed to quickly, so he could get back in the ship. If I tried to talk to him, he could lose his concentration, and fall into empty space.  
>He managed to reach the buttons, and pushed one of them. But he didn't come back in. Instead, he was now trying to reach a box just to the right of the buttons. He was stretching, as far as he could, trying to reach it. after a few long seconds, he managed to grab the handle and yank the cover off of the box. Inside was a lever, that grabbed a hold of and pulled down. I ran back over to the intercom.<br>"Now get back in here, I need to tell you something!" I yelled. He climbed into the door frame, but froze, looking at the star.  
>"Doctor?" I asked.<br>"Shadow, it's alive!" he yelled.  
>"Doctor, get in here, The pod'll smash into you!" I yelled.<br>He climbed into the airlock, and closed the door.  
>"Impact in. 8. 57," the computer warned. In the airlock, the Doctor removed his helmet. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, on his knees with his eyes clamped tight shut.<br>"Airlock recompression completed," the computer said.  
>The Doctor literally fell out of the airlock back into the corridor of the spaceship, still on his knees. I ran away from the intercom to his side.<br>"Did you look at it?" I demanded. He was writhing in pain. I shook him. "Doctor, did you look at the star?" I asked.  
>Martha and Riley clambered out of the escape pod, and ran to the Doctor.<br>"Doctor! Doctor!" Martha cried, crouching beside him. "Are you OK?" she asked.  
>I flipped the Doctor onto his back, so he can sit up. The Doctor opened his eyes, reveal a blinding light. He closed his eyes again quickly.<br>"Stay away from me!" he yelled, falling back to the floor.  
>Martha quickly backed away, but I stayed. I tried to get through our link, but the star was still keeping the link closed. "What's happened?" McDonnell asked, appearing behind us.<br>"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell!" he yelled. I tried to hold him down. He was burning hot.  
>"Doctor, we need-"<br>"Riley! Get down to area 10 and help Scannell with the doors. Go!" McDonnell yelled, cutting me off.  
>Riley hurried to do as she said.<br>"You mined that sun! Stripped its surface for cheap fuel! You should have scanned for life!" the Doctor shouted.  
>"I don't understand," McDonnell said.<br>"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Martha asked.  
>I looked at her as the Doctor screamed in pain. "The star is alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it's screaming," I said.<br>"What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why're you saying that?" McDonnell asked.  
>"Because it's living in me!" the Doctor yelled.<br>"Oh my god…" McDonnell said, beginning to realize what she had done.  
>"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry!" He screamed in agony and anguish. "You should have scanned!" he shouted.<br>"It takes too long! We'd be caught! Fusion scoops are illegal," McDonnell said.  
>The Doctor screamed more loudly, trying to get away from me. I looked at Martha.<br>"We have to freeze him, quickly!" I yelled over his screams.  
>"What?" Martha asked.<br>"Are there stasis chambers on this ship?" I asked.  
>McDonnell nodded. "In med bay," she said.<br>"We have to get him below minus 200. Freeze it out of him," I explained, as calmly as I could. He was still screaming, and his body temperature was rising. Martha looks at McDonnell in disgust. Rather than screaming in anguish, the Doctor now sounded scared.  
>"Then we need to get to the med bay quickly," I said, trying to haul him to his feet. "Help me!" I snapped at Martha.<br>She grabbed his free arm. I looked at McDonnell. "Take us to the med bay," I ordered. She started walking. Martha and I followed, half carrying, half dragging the Doctor towards the med bay.  
>"Impact in, 7.30," the computer said.<br>We walked through the corridors, and then turned into an area with plastic over the door. Martha ran forward and grabbed the instruction manual as I tried to get the Doctor into the stasis chamber.  
>"I can do this!" she said to herself.<br>The Doctor reached out blindly. "Martha, where are you?" he asked.  
>"It's alright! I'm here!" she said. She runs back and grabbed the Doctor. "It's me! Here I am! Stasis chamber, minus 200, yeah?" she said.<br>Martha and I lifted him onto the stasis chamber bed.  
>"No, you don't know how this equipment works! You'll kill him! Nobody can survive those temperatures!" McDonnell protested.<br>"He's not human! If he says he can survive, then he can," Martha said.  
>"Let me help you then," McDonnell said.<br>"You've done enough damage,"Martha said.  
>Martha went back to working out how the chamber worked.<br>Ten seconds. That's all he'll be able to take. No more," I said.  
>He screamed. "Martha!" he yelled.<br>"Yeah?" Martha asked.  
>"It's burning me up. I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all. He screamed again. "I'm scared! I'm so scared!" he said.<br>"Just… stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favour. Just… just believe in me," Martha said.  
>"It's bloody killing me! Then what'll happen?" he asked.<br>"That's enough! I've got you!" Martha said.  
>"There's this process. This… this thing… that happens… if I'm about to die," the Doctor said.<br>"Shhh… quiet now. Cause that is not gonna happen. You ready?" Martha asked.  
>"No!" he yelled.<br>Martha pushed a lever that slid the Doctor back into the stasis chamber. She types in '200', and pressed the button to start the process. Inside, the Doctor screamed continuously. I gasped, and doubled over as the star tried to break through to me. It wanted to stop the stasis.  
>"Heat shields failing. At five percent," the computer said. I straightened, Protocol 23 still in action.<br>There was a pinging noise, and the stasis stopped, frozen at minus 70.  
>"No! Martha you can't stop it! Not yet!" the Doctor yelled.<br>"What's happened?" I asked.  
>"Power's been cut in engineering," McDonnell said.<br>"But who's down there?" Martha asked.  
>"Leave it to me," McDonnell said.<br>I collapsed, screaming in agony along with the Doctor as the star's pain broke through. The star had a hold on me again, and it was all I could do to hold onto conciousness. I blacked out, probably only for a few minutes before potocol 23 kicked in. I sat up, gasping, and stood, fighting to stay concious.  
>"Get to the front! Vent the engines! Sun particles in the fuel! Get rid of them!" the Doctor was telling Martha.<br>"I am not leaving you!" Martha yelled back.  
>"You've got to! Give back what they took!" he yelled.<br>"Doctor!" Martha yelled.  
>"Martha go, now!" I screamed.<br>She started running.  
>"Impact in 2.17," the computer said.<br>The Doctor fell out of the stasis chamber. He was going to try to follow Martha, I knew he was. I ran at him and pushed him, knocking him to the ground.  
>"Shadow, go!" he shouted at me.<br>"No," I said flatly.  
>"Survival element protection. Zero percent," the computer said.<br>We both fell over, shrieking as the star tightened it's grip on us both. I held on, because of Protcol 23, but the Doctor didn't have that. He started crawling, heading to the med bay door. I crawled after him.  
>"Martha!" the Doctor yelled, still trying to hold on.<br>"Doctor! What are you doing?" she yelled form down the hall.  
>He stopped crawling, and I stood, trying to walk to him.<br>"I can't fight it. Give it back or…" he stopped. "Burn with me. Burn with me, Martha!" he said, in a voice that wasn't his own. Martha turned and ran, and the Doctor stood, moving to follow her. I ran at him, and fell, grabbing onto his ankle. He fell, and I got on his back, trying to hold him down.  
>"Burn with me," the star said through him. I held on, but he was hot. I was going to burn, just trying to hold him. I hung on grimly, praying to anything that might have been able to hear me that Martha could dump the fuel in time.<br>"Impact in 1.21," the computer said.  
>The Doctor screamed, glowing with the hue of the sun around him. I screamed, and let go of him as the heat became too much. He stood, and I grabbed his ankle again, but he shook my hand off, and walked away. I struggled to my feet, and swayed, falling over again. Ahead of me, I heard a thump, adn saw the Doctor fall.<br>"Impact averted. Impact averted," the computer said. I crawled over to the Doctor.  
>"Doctor," I said, shaking him. He turned over, and opened his eyes, looking at me. I smiled in relief, not seeing any light.<br>"Martha did it," I said. He didn't reply. I closed my eyes, and went to sleep, simply exhausted.

"This is never your ship!" Scannell said, looking at the Tardis.  
>"Compact! Eh! And another good word, robust! Barely a scorch mark on her," the Doctor said admiringly.<br>"We can't just leave them drifting with no fuel," Martha said, concerned about Riley and Scannell.  
>"We've sent out an official mayday. The authorities will pick us up soon enough.<br>Riley said.  
>"Though how we explain what happened…" Scannell trailed off.<br>The Doctor opened the door to the Tardis. "Just tell them. That sun needs care and protection, just like any other living thing," he said.  
>Scannell nodded. The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS, and Martha made to follow him, but before she could, Riley grabbed her arm.<br>"So… uh, you're off then?" he asked. Martha nodded. "No chance I'll see you again?" he asked.  
>"Not really. It was nice… not dying with you," Martha said. They both gave a half-hearted laugh. "I reckon you'll find someone worth believing in," she said.<br>"I think I already did," Riley said.  
>Unsure of what to do for a second, Martha decided, and launched herself onto Riley, kissing him. He was very pleasantly surprised. Scannell looked on in amusement.<br>"Well done. Very hot," Martha said.  
>Riley gave a little laugh. Martha stepped into the Tardis, and shuts the door. She smiled as she walked up the ramp.<br>"So! Didn't really need you in the end, did we?" Martha asked. The Doctor didn't answer, just looked sad and distant. "Sorry. How're you doing?" Martha asked.  
>"Now! What do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Cuhlhan. Fancy it?" the Doctor asked rather than answering her.<br>Instead of smiling, Martha looked disappointed.  
>"Whatever you like," she said without much enthusiasm.<br>"By the way, you'll be needing this," the Doctor said.  
>He pulled a Tardis key on a long chain out of a pocket.<br>"Really?" Martha asked in disbelief.  
>"Frequent Flier's Privilege," he said, handing it to her. "Thank you," he said sincerely.<br>"Don't mention it," she said. He gave her a weak smile, and continued to tinker with the Tardis. Martha felt around for her mobile.  
>"Oh no! Mum!" she said. She dialed, and Francine picked up at the other end.<br>"Hello?" Francine asked.  
>"Me again!" Martha said.<br>"Three calls in one day," Francine said.  
>"Sorry about earlier. Over emotional, mad day!" Martha said.<br>"What are you doing tonight? Why don't you come round? I'll make something nice and we can catch up," Francine said.  
>"Yeah! Tonight. Do my best. Um, just remind me, what day is it again?" Martha asked.<br>"Election day," Francine said.  
>"Right. Course. I'll be round for tea. Roughly," Martha said.<br>"And what about-"  
>"Anyway, gotta go! See you later! Love you!" Martha interrupted. She hung up, smiling.<p> 


End file.
